Teen charged in drunk driving crash that killed 2 classmates, police say

HARRIS COUNTY, Texas —

A 17-year-old Atascocita High School student has been charged in a violent crash that killed two of his classmates.

Jaggar Clayton Smith is charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter.

Deputies say Salma Gomez and Chloe Robison, both 16, were passengers in Smith’s 2008 Nissan Altima when Smith was speeding southbound in the 18300 block of Timber Forest.

Smith lost control and slammed into trees in the median, splitting the vehicle in half.

The front half of the car rotated clockwise, stopping in the median. The back half of the vehicle continued to spin southeast, hitting another tree.

Robison, who was sitting in the back, died at the scene.

Gomez was in the front passenger seat. She was taken to Memorial Hermann Northeast Hospital, where she died.

Smith was taken to Houston Northwest Medical Center, where he was treated for minor injuries. Authorities believe he was drinking.

“Just to see the devastation, how the metal is torn in half. This is not a major roadway. To see the short distance traveled to speed, you lose control, it’s very violent,” Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said. “Lives torn and lost and families impacted. It’s very tragic.”

All three teenagers attended Atascocita High School. One of the girls who died was a sophomore.