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'They didn’t deserve this at all' | 3 valet employees killed when driver crashes into them, HPD says

The driver is facing three felony murder charges and is also being tested for intoxication.

HOUSTON — Three valet employees were killed Friday night when a driver caught doing donuts in a parking lot sped away from police and crashed into them, according to the Houston Police Department.

This happened at about 10:30 p.m. on Fairdale Lane near Fountainview Drive.

Houston police said a sergeant on patrol saw a vehicle doing donuts in a private parking lot. Moments later, the vehicle got on Fairdale and started traveling eastbound. The sergeant turned on his emergency lights to try to stop the driver, and within seconds, police say the vehicle took off at a high rate of speed.

The sergeant attempted to catch up with the vehicle and that's when he saw it had crashed out in the 6200 block of Fairdale Lane. 

Investigators said the driver of the vehicle struck three valet employees who were walking along the street, going back and forth to get cars, and an object before coming to a stop. 

The valet employees were all pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the vehicle and his passenger were taken to a nearby hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Shundra Wright says one of the valets had just parked her car and died with her keys in hand.

“He was walking back to valet with my keys and I came out and saw the corruption… it was just horrible,” Wright said.

On Saturday, restaurant Prospect Park confirmed all three of those valet employees worked at their restaurant.

“It’s unfair. They were good people. They were friends of mine,” Naif Nawaz, who works at a private parking lot across the street, said.

Sean Teare with the Harris County District Attorney's Office called this scene the most "egregious" he has seen in a very long time.

“We’re out here because one person decided they didn’t want to get a ticket or potentially go to jail for a misdemeanor," Teare said. “We're talking about three individuals who were just out here working. They were out here doing their job.”

Teare said the driver is being tested for intoxication and that initial signs point to intoxication being a possibility. 

The driver is facing three felony murder charges, and if intoxication played a role, additional charges would be filed, Teare confirmed.

Police are still in the process of positively identifying the driver.

Those close to the scene say those three valet employees were just doing their jobs and now it’s an irreversible tragedy.

“They didn’t deserve this at all,” Wright said.

Prospect Park South released the following statement Saturday afternoon as part of a post on their Instagram account: "Our condolences are with the families and anyone affected by this tragic incident. Please keep the families in your thoughts & prayers during this time 🙏🏽❤️"

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