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Miami Herald

Mom and 1-year-old daughter die after car goes into Texas river, cops say

A woman and her 1-year-old daughter died after Texas officials said she suffered a possible medical emergency and drove her vehicle into a river. Around 4:45 p.m. April 25, 39-year-old Crystal Njepu was driving a 2020 Kia Telluride in Channelview, according to a news release from the Harris County Sheriff's Office. Njepu was in the vehicle with her three children, 1, 5 and 7 years old, officials said at a news conference streamed by KRIV. Officials believe at some point Njepu suffered a medical emergency and pulled her vehicle over on the side of the road. Nearby surveillance video showed the car stop and start multiple times, and the kids were seen making some gestures indicating their mom was in distress, officials said. 'Moments later the vehicle accelerated forward into the grassy area and into the water. The vehicle began to sink in a rapid rate and also was taken by the current under the bridge,' officials said in the release. A witness saw two kids on top of the vehicle and jumped into the San Jacinto River and rescued them, officials said. 'Had that bystander not intervened, this could have had a different spin,' officials said. 'All four could have died.' However, Njepu and her 1-year-old child were still in the car, according to authorities. Dive teams pulled her and the toddler out of the river, but both were dead at the scene, officials said. Channelview is about a 20-mile drive east of Houston.