Manslaughter charge filed after 5-year-old girl dies in Gulf Freeway crash

A 5-year-old girl died after a crash in the Gulf Freeway corridor near FM 2351 and Clear Lake City Boulevard, and court documents say 60-year-old Daniel Ruiz now faces a manslaughter charge after police said he failed to control his speed.

Houston police said the crash happened Thursday evening on the I-45 South service road near Clear Lake City Boulevard, where a marked tow truck had its emergency lights on while helping a stalled vehicle. Police said a green Toyota 4Runner struck the back of the tow truck. The child was riding in the front passenger seat without a child safety seat. She was taken to the hospital and later died. No one in the other vehicle was reported to have needed treatment.

Ruiz was denied bond after the fatal crash. Court records also show he had previously been convicted in a separate child-abandonment case in 2024 and received probation, a history that makes the new charge even more troubling for families weighing how a child ended up in such a dangerous position on a high-speed freeway corridor.

Texas law requires children younger than 8 years old, unless they are taller than 4 feet 9 inches, to be secured in a child safety seat. The Texas Department of Transportation says failing to properly restrain a child can bring a ticket of up to $250. In this case, the child’s placement in the front passenger seat without that protection turned a collision into a fatal event.

The legal test ahead is whether prosecutors can prove the elements of manslaughter, but the safety lesson is already stark. On a corridor as fast-moving as the Gulf Freeway, a driver’s failure to control speed, combined with the decision to leave a young child unrestrained, can leave a family with an irreversible loss in seconds.