A Clear Lake family vacationing in the northeast suffered a fatal crash while traveling to Boston, Massachusetts. Their van traveled into a grassy highway median, then returned to the roadway and rolled several times before stopping in the middle of the Thruway on I-90. Houston mother Jennifer Hodson was driving the van at the time of the fatal crash; her mother, Tanya Evans of Virginia, was killed in the fatal crash.
Hodson was travelling with her seven children and mother, heading to Niagara Falls, according to initial reports, when the fatal single-car accident occured. Hodson was treated at Upstate University Hospital and was last reported to be in good condition. Her 13-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter were critically injured in the rollover crash and remain in the hospital.
The remaining five children were treated and released without serious injury. Investigators are still unsure what caused Hodson to swerve off the road and then back on before rolling the van carrying her family. No charges have been filed related to the crash. Neither speed nor alcohol are believed to have played a factor in the crash. Police are questioning whether the driver was distracted at the time of the crash, causing her to veer off the highway and potentially over-correct, sending the van into a roll.
Despite the injuries, the Clear Lake family appears to be lucky that more of the children were not seriously injured in the crash. A fund to help defray the mounting medical costs related to the crash has been created for the family on youcaring.com.
Source: Houston Chronicle, “Texas mom, 2 kids still in hospital after NY crash,”July 17, 2013