Craig Carter, the father of a 4-year-old girl who died alongside her grandmother in a rollover crash Sunday in Northlake, is asking for prayers for his 3-year-old son who was critically injured in the collision.
Carter, a runoff candidate for Texas House District 68, said in a public post shared on his Facebook page that his daughter Lux and mother-in-law Rose Morgan died Sunday in the crash and that his son, Rex, is fighting to survive his injuries.
"As some may know my Daughter Lux, who was 4, and mother-in-law Rose have passed away into heaven as the result of a horrible car crash on Sunday. Our son Rex has survived, he is fighting and we humbly ask for your prayers. My wife and I are devastated but comforted by the knowledge that they are now with our Lord Jesus," Carter wrote on Facebook Monday afternoon.
In the same post on Facebook, Carter, who runs several businesses with his wife Leigha Morgan including a nonprofit food bank, thanked the first responders and medical team a Cook Children's in Fort Worth who have been working to save his son.
Morgan spoke with NBC 5 Tuesday afternoon and said that Lux, true to her name, "was a ball of light. She really loved God. She actually wanted to be a preacher. Which is very odd for a child, but she is very special."
"I was lucky enough to have my mom live with us," Morgan said. "She was always a light in my life."
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"They were my two best friends. I know their memory will live on. It's just going to be hard to fathom every day without them," said Leigha Morgan.
Earlier Tuesday, Carter posted a photo of his young son, unconscious and apparently intubated, and said he was still listed in critical condition and that an operation to repair his leg cannot be done until swelling in his brain subsides.
"Please keep praying for his miraculous healing. Thank you for those who have prayed for the healing of this little guy, I know he will make it through all of this," Carter said.
Morgan told NBC 5 Tuesday afternoon that Rex remains in critical care but was stable.
"He is improving. He has a broken femur and tibia, both legs have breaks. One leg will have surgery and one leg a cast. He has a small brain contusion that they are monitoring," Morgan said.
Morgan added that Rex also has two cracked ribs and a cracked clavicle but that his breathing has improved and has woken up a few times. The family, who said they have no health insurance for Rex, has set up a GoFundMe account to help cover the costs of Rex's medical treatment.
On Thursday afternoon, the family posted on Facebook that continued swelling in Rex's brain was preventing doctors from performing surgery on his leg, but they thanked the staff at Cook Children's for the round-the-clock care provided to Rex and to friends, family and churches for the continued prayers.
"Thank you so much everyone and every church that has vigilantly been praying for our little warrior T Rex," Craig Carter wrote.
According to police, the crash occurred at about 3:40 p.m. Sunday in the northbound lanes of Interstate 35W in Northlake when the driver of an Audi A6 moved from the right lane to the left lane and collided with the Toyota driven by Carter's mother-in-law.
The collision pushed the Toyota into the concrete barrier and it then rolled several times before coming to a stop, according to witnesses.
Morgan said the family was about 10 minutes from home when the crash occurred and that a doctor who saw the crash rushed to the damaged vehicle and confirmed that Lux and her grandmother had died and that Rex had survived.
Rex was extracted from the vehicle and was taken by air ambulance to Cook Children's Hospital in Fort Worth.
Police said the driver who struck the Toyota left the scene after being told by witnesses the vehicle rolled over. The driver turned around and stopped at the next exit after a tire went flat. The driver was interviewed by police and eventually taken into custody.
Police said the driver of the Audi, identified as Kendrick Collins, is facing two charges of accident involving death and a third charge of accident involving serious bodily injury for the injured boy. Collins is currently being held in the Denton County Jail on a $600,000 bond. Police said the investigation is ongoing and that more charges are possible. It's not clear if Collins has obtained an attorney.
According to the Texas Tribune, Carter is in a runoff race for Texas House District 68 with David Spiller. The Republican candidates are vying to fill the seat vacated by Drew Springer who is now a state senator. The runoff election will be held Feb. 23 with early voting beginning on Feb. 16.
NBC 5's Lizbeth Licon contributed to this report.
