Two toddler sisters were killed when their allegedly drunken aunt lost control of the van that she was driving near Las Vegas with the mother of the young girls in the passenger seat, according to reports.
Kaleah Sharelle Manning, 23, is accused of driving while impaired on the night of Dec. 11.
North Las Vegas police officers responded to the 5000 block of North Scott Robinson to a report of a single-vehicle traffic collision around 9:16 p.m.
According to the crash report, Manning had a "strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emitting from her mouth every time she opened it to speak," Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.
She also was slurring her words, repeating herself, and her eyes were bloodshot, police said.
The crash report says the silver 2004 Honda Odyssey van veered off the road near a curve just after 9:15 p.m., striking the curb and forcing the tires up into a landscaped buffer area. The van struck a small tree, a light pole and then a large palm tree, causing severe damage to the van.
Also inside the vehicle was Raenysa Clydette-Glenn Washington, 25, and her young daughters, Taylor and Rose Wilmer, who were ages 3 and 2, respectively.
Washington was in the front passenger seat, while the girls were strapped into the back with adult seat belts instead of age-appropriate car seats as required by law, according to police. Rose was pronounced dead at the scene, while Taylor, Manning and Washington were transported to a nearby hospital. Taylor died the next morning.
Witnesses told police that they spotted an "intoxicated" woman drop the body of one of the girls to the ground before stomping on top of her in the aftermath of the crash.
According to the Review-Journal, the girls’ father, Tavon Wilmer, 22, said the wreck was "something that should never have happened." "My girls were beautiful, smart girls," Wilmer added.
The crash report says Manning and Washington were in critical condition in the intensive care unit at University Medical Center, but both the girls’ aunt and mother were still booked in absentia.
Manning was charged with three counts of DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm or death, two counts of child neglect/endangerment resulting in death, two counts of operating a vehicle without child safety restraints, operating a vehicle with suspended registration, no proof of insurance and failure to maintain a travel lane. Washington was charged with two counts of child neglect/endangerment resulting in death.
