Man pleads guilty after seriously hurting his 2 kids in drunken crash

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — A man seriously injured his two kids after he drunkenly crashed into a tree last year in Norfolk.

37-year-old Gary Sanders II recently pleaded guilty to two counts of felony child abuse resulting in serious injury and one count of driving while intoxicated in the case, the Norfolk Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office announced.

The crash happened just after midnight on Nov. 24, 2023, on Cromwell Road in the Coleman Place area of the city. Sanders was heading north when he struck a tree in the median head-on at a high rate of speed.

Prosecutors say Sanders was driving so fast that the impact pushed the car’s engine block of the front-seat area. Both of Sanders’ kids were in the backseat, but suffered major injuries.

The older child had a fractured femur and lost teeth, and the younger child, who was in a car seat, stopped breathing at one point, prosecutors say. That child had a fractured spine, bruises to the lungs and a forearm fracture.

Police said Sanders had a broken knee and a blood alcohol content between 0.16 and 0.18, at least twice the legal limit to drive. Officers also found multiple open cans of beer inside the car, and an open liquor bottle inside a backpack in the front seat.

Sanders is scheduled to be sentenced on January 17, 2025.

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