Wrong Way SUV Driver In Hamilton Charged With DWI

A wrong way driver on Route 29 in Hamilton early Father's Day morning who struck and killed a father driving a mini-van has been charged with DWI and death by auto.

Manuel Gutierrez Vazquez, 27, who is not in the United States legally,  has been charged with DWI, one count of death by auto, two counts of assault by auto and one count of causing death or serious injury while unlicensed according to the Times of Trenton. He is being held on $250,000 bail at the Mercer County Correctional Center.

Varquez was arrested several weeks ago for drunk driving in Texas reports the Times.

Gutirrez was driving a Dodge Durango south in the northbound lanes of Route 29 near Route 129 early Sunday morning when he hit the mini van driven by 28-year-old Jorge Deleon head on.

Chief Thomas Gribbin of the Rusling Hose Fire Company in Hamilton described a "horrific and sad" scene. “When our crew arrived on scene, there was a fatality in one vehicle and two small children outside of the vehicle laying on the ground,” Gribbin told the Times of Trenton. “They found life in the two children and they immediately treated and transported them.”

Deleon's children, a 6-year old son and 3-year-old daughter, were hospitalized. The girl, who suffered a brain hematoma and swelling, has since died from her injuries at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia according to WCAU TV, which reports Deleon has three other children.

Interstate 195 was closed to traffic eastbound at I-295 for several hours on Sunday morning as police conducted an investigation. No charges have yet been filed.