“Faulty evasive action” was also listed as a contributing factor, in the opinion of DPS Trooper Marvin Baker, who investigated the accident.
According to information in the report, Jasmine Medina, 26, of Kenedy, who was driving northbound in a GMC Sonoma pickup, became distracted by multiple children in the vehicle and this caused the pickup to leave the roadway, striking the guardrail on the east side of US Highway 181 at a location about one mile north of Pettus.
After striking the guardrail, the Sonoma veered across the highway striking another guardrail on the west side of the highway. After hitting the second guardrail, Medina then steered the Sonoma to the right into oncoming traffic, and the Sonoma was then struck by a Dodge Ram pickup which was traveling southbound.
Medina was ejected from the vehicle in the crash which broke the Sonoma in half, separating the front end of the pickup from its bed.
The report said that at the scene, the seven-year-old passenger who was riding in the pickup driven by Medina, told an officer that his mother turned her head and reached into the backseat area of the truck because children were jumping up and down and distracting her.
Two children who were passengers in the GMC pickup, Medina’s son, Andren Skau, 6, of Kenedy and her daughter, Paityn Skau, 4, of Kenedy, were pronounced dead at the scene by Justice of the Peace Ted Staples.
Medina was airlifted from the scene to Christus Spohn Hospital in Corpus Christi in critical condition.
Another passenger in the GMC pickup, Mariah Villareal, 15, of Kenedy, was also airlifted from the scene in stable condition.
Jaiandric Skau, 7, another passenger in the Sonoma, was injured in the crash and was transported to Christus Spohn Hospital in Beeville in stable condition.
Four of the five passengers in the Sonoma were not wearing seatbelts, according to information from DPS. Police said that Villareal was the only person in the vehicle who was wearing a seatbelt when the accident occurred.
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