12-year-old girl kills neighbor in car crash, father charged with negligent homicide

The father of a 12-year-old girl who allegedly got behind the wheel of a car and accidentally ran down a neighbor has been charged with criminally negligent homicide, reported ABC News.

Tomas Mejia Tol, 42, was arrested Friday after his daughter allegedly killed a man walking his three dogs and crashed into a tree while she was driving in the parking lot outside of their home. The accident occurred at about 4 p.m. Thursday, August 15 authorities said.

Enrique Vazquez, 47, and one of his dogs were killed in the incident.

A spokesperson for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office told Houston ABC station KTRK that the father claimed he had been the driver. However, video footage shows that his daughter was the vehicle’s operator.

The spokesperson also said that the girl had indicated that her father allowed her to drive the car to practice driving.

Mejia’s 2-year-old child was also in a car seat in the rear of the vehicle at the time of the crash, according to prosecutors.

Mejia has been charged with criminally negligent homicide and endangering the welfare of a child. The accident is still under investigation.