Fatality reported at Como crash

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  • Brant Lee McGinnis/ Courtesy HCSO
    Brant Lee McGinnis/ Courtesy HCSO
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A man has now been arrested for intoxication manslaughter as a result of last night's Como crash, according to authorities.

Brant Lee McGinnis, 36, of Yantis is charged with intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault with a vehicle after allegedly driving with his two daughters in the car after having had six beers. 

At 5:10 p.m., a call came into HCSO about a one car rollover with an injured person but no entrapment and  multiple ejected persons atFM 1567 and CR 2439 in Como.

At 5:18 p.m. CPR was in progress on at least one of the victims of the crash, and by 6:32 p.m. dispatch confirmed two patients, one code yellow and one code red. 

The victims were McGinnis's 8-year-old and 11-year-old daughters, according to Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace BJ Teer. 

A nurse at the scene reportedly told 911 operators the eight-year-old was "beyond help." 

DPS troopers found that a tan GMC Yukon was reportedly traveling at an unsafe speed eastbound when entering the curve on FM 1567 when it drove off the roadway and entered the north barrow ditch, rolling on to its passenger side. 

The vehicle reportedly came to a stop in the south barrow ditch, and two passengers were ejected. 

The eight-year-old was confirmed deceased by Teer at 5:19 p.m., he said. The 11-year-old was transferred to Children's Hospital in Dallas during the night, and no update was available about her condition as of Tuesday morning, Teer said. 

McGinnis allegedly admitted to drinking six beers, and suffered only minor cuts and bruises, according to reports. McGinnis was arrested after being cleared by doctors at CHRISTUS Mother Francis, where his 11-year-old daughter had also been initially treated, according to Teer. 

The call was cleared by 6:50 p.m., according to dispatch. McGinnis was booked into jail without incident, where he remains on a total of $105,000 worth of bonds, according to records. 

"It's always hard to go to a scene where someone is deceased, but especially in these circumstances, it being a little girl and it being Christmas," Teer said. 

* An earlier version of this story stated victims were transported to Mt. Vernon. They were transported to Sulphur Springs. 

Reporter Tammy Vinson contributed to this report.