2-year-old drowns, drunken driver crashes into responding fire truck, officials say

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA/Gray News) – A 2-year-old girl is dead after she drowned in a Texas lake.

A crash involving first responders and a drunken driver delayed response to the drowning by about 20 minutes, officials said.

Texas Parks and Wildlife game wardens responded immediately Saturday around 6 p.m. to the Blue West beach area of Lake Meredith, where they performed CPR on the girl and then transported her for more advanced medical care.

The Fritch Volunteer Fire Department blocked the road, allowing for an ambulance to come in, when officials say a drunk driver ran into the firetruck, delaying response to the drowning by about 20 minutes.

The driver, identified as Damon Elliot Creek, was arrested and charged with public intoxication, interfering with public duties, striking an unattended vehicle, driving with an invalid license invalid, and failure to identify.

The girl was taken to Golden Plains Community Hospital. First responders performed CPR on the child for about an hour, but ultimately, she could not be revived.

The girl’s death has been ruled accidental.

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