On way home from softball tournament, Houston family’s journey turns to tragedy

HOUSTON — A grieving family is asking for support and prayers after a mother and her 9-year-old son were killed in a wrong-way crash early Monday morning near downtown Houston. Two surviving family members remain hospitalized in critical condition.

According to a GoFundMe page created by relatives, Brittany Munive and her son, DJ Munive, died while returning home from a softball tournament for Brittany’s daughter. Police say the crash happened just after 12:45 a.m. on the North Freeway near the Dallas and Preston exit when a red Ford F-150 was spotted driving the wrong way and collided with the family’s SUV.

Authorities said Brittany, 33, was driving the Mitsubishi Outlander. Her husband and their 10-year-old daughter, also in the vehicle, were critically injured and had to be cut from the wreckage along with the victims.

RELATED: Wrong-way crash on North Freeway leaves mother and son dead, father and daughter critically injured

The family’s GoFundMe describes Brittany as a mother who “lived for her children” and made sure they had everything they needed. DJ, her 9-year-old son, was remembered as a lively boy who loved riding his dirt bike, playing baseball and “hassling his older sister.”

“They will truly be missed,” the fundraiser states.

Police said a third child, identified in the GoFundMe as Mila, and the children’s father, Dario Munive, remain in the hospital in critical condition. “Dario was the financial provider for his family, and we are uncertain where things will go from here,” the family wrote.

A GoFundMe has been created to assist the Munive family with funeral expenses and the long-term medical care that may be required for the survivors.

You can watch an update from Sgt. David Rose with the Houston Police Department below.

Houston police have since identified the driver of the Ford F-150 as Michael Anthony Arguijo, 46. He has been charged with two counts of intoxication manslaughter in connection with the crash. According to HPD, Arguijo was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of I-45 when he struck the Munive family’s Mitsubishi Outlander head-on.

Arguijo was also hospitalized in critical condition and remains in police custody. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office approved the charges following the investigation by HPD’s Vehicular Crimes Division.

A booking photo has not yet been released.

Sgt. David Rose with HPD’s Vehicular Crimes Division called the crash scene heartbreaking and praised the good Samaritans who tried to help.

“These people didn’t do anything wrong,” Rose said. “It’s not unreasonable to assume you’re safe at 12:45 a.m.”

The crash also involved a third vehicle, a Nissan Rogue. The woman driving that car, who is two months pregnant, was taken to the hospital but is expected to be OK. A male passenger suffered only minor injuries.

Traffic on I-45 near I-10 was shut down for hours after the crash, and stormy weather in the area delayed parts of the investigation. All vehicles involved were taken to HPD’s DART lot for further processing.

Officials said the vast majority of wrong-way driving incidents involve a driver who is somehow impaired and prevention efforts focus on infrastructure as well as informing the public of the risks of impaired driving.

“We attack it with the with the three Es,” TxDOT public information officer Danny Perez told KHOU 11. “That’s engineering, enforcement and education.”

Efforts include red, illuminated signage markings on the road at exit ramps as well as detection and warning systems.

“We’ve looked at different areas where we could see the potential for folks to come up the wrong way, especially on our exit ramps,” Perez said.

Controlled roadways, like the Westpark Tollway, can use mechanisms like gates to add a layer of protection.

Other metro areas have worked to address the issue over the years.

That includes San Antonio, which, in 2011, formed a task force to study the issue, develop potential solutions, implement them, and review the results.

Installing illuminated signage, road markers and a camera detection and warning system all helped reduce the number of incidents. In the first year of a pilot program along one roadway, the task force reported a 30% reduction in the number of wrong-way driving incidents.

Ultimately, officials say the number one way to reduce the number of such incidents is to prevent drunk or impaired driving.

Houston police have shared four tips to help keep you safe from wrong-way drivers.

• First, stay alert with your eyes looking ahead and down the road for potential problems.     
• Second, at night, try to stay in the right lane, as wrong-way drivers are likely to be driving in the left-most lane.
• Third, if a wrong-way driver is headed towards you, slow down, move to the shoulder and then call 911.
• Police say your job is to save yourself and not try to stop the wrong-way driver.