CYPRESS, Texas – A man who is accused of causing a crash involving an SUV and a golf cart in the Cypress area on Sunday faced a judge early Monday.
Daniel Rivera, 21, is charged with three counts of murder.
During probable cause court, records revealed that Rivera had an 8-year-old child inside the vehicle at the time of the crash. It was not immediately clear if the child was hurt.
The judge handed Rivera a $200,000 bond for each murder count -- totaling $600,000. His bond conditions include having an electronic monitoring device, complying with a curfew, and not having any drugs or alcohol.
WHAT HAPPENED?
According to the sheriff’s office, deputies responded to reports of the deadly crash in the 11100 block of Greenhouse and Towne Lake Parkway.
The sheriff’s office said the crash happened around 2:46 a.m. A man, identified as Rivera, was driving a 2021 Cadillac Escalade southbound on Greenhouse Road approaching the intersection of Towne Lake Parkway, which formed a four-way intersection with posted stop signs in all four directions.
At the same time, three people in a battery-powered golf cart were traveling northbound on Greenhouse Road approaching the intersection of Towne Lake Parkway. The golf cart made a left turn to travel west on Towne Lake Parkway when the Escalade ran a stop sign and struck the golf cart.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said two of the three people who were on the golf cart died at the scene and the third person was hospitalized in critical condition.
Update: the 3rd male was pronounced deceased at the hospital. The ages of the three deceased victims are: 37, 37, 41. #HouNews https://t.co/Z91wGXBn82
— Ed Gonzalez (@SheriffEd_HCSO) August 6, 2023
At 2:39 p.m., Gonzalez said the third person, a man, who was hospitalized had died. Gonzalez also released the ages of those who died. Two of the victims were 37 years old and the third was 41 years old.
The sheriff’s office identified the victims as Jacob Wnuk, Christopher Scandridge, and Fraser Anderson.
The sheriff’s office said Rivera was intoxicated from alcoholic beverages and his blood alcohol level was higher than the legal limit. He was arrested and charged with three counts of murder.
The case remains under investigation.