After a woman drove her vehicle into the San Jacinto River, good Samaritans helped save two of her children.
CHANNELVIEW, Texas — A good Samaritan is speaking out after he saved two children from drowning in the San Jacinto River.
Agustin Garcia Alvarez was driving home from a job site Friday afternoon when he noticed something unusual — a car floating in the river near Channelview. He didn’t know it yet, but a family had just plunged into the water moments before.
Authorities said the victim’s car had stopped near a gravel area before accelerating into the river. Crystal Njepu, 39, and her three children were inside.
Garcia said he quickly grabbed a rope from his truck, tied it around his waist, and handed the other end to another bystander before jumping in. When he couldn’t open the car doors, a second bystander threw him a baseball bat, which he used to break a window.
Inside, Garcia found Njepu’s two older children, a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old. He pulled them out of the sinking car and got them safely to shore.
“The kids were yelling, ‘Break the window! So another person threw me a baseball bat,” Garcia recalled. “The 7-year-old even knew how to swim a bit.”
Tragically, the vehicle sank with Njepu and her 1-year-old daughter, Annah, still inside. Both were later pronounced dead.
“I thank God we were able to save two kids,” Garcia said. “But there’s sadness in my heart because two lives were lost, and we could not get it done.”
Njepu’s family released a statement thanking Garcia, which said in part, “We send our complete love to Agustin. There are no words to express how grateful we are that he responded to the call of God on his life and helped save our other two babies.”
Investigators believe a medical emergency may have contributed to the crash, but the official cause is still under investigation.
Njepu’s family has started a GoFundMe to help with funeral expenses.