HOUSTON (AP) -- Police planned to charge a driver suspected of being intoxicated when he lost control of his car while using his cell phone, plunging the vehicle into a rain-filled ditch and killing five children, a spokesman said Sunday.
Four counts of intoxication manslaughter were being prepared against Chanton Jenkins, 32, Houston police spokesman Kese Smith said.
Jenkins failed a field sobriety test following the accident, which happened after torrential rain storms. The results of a blood alcohol test were pending, Smith said.
It was unclear if Jenkins had an attorney.
Meanwhile, a body believed to be that of a 1-year-old girl killed in the wreck was found Sunday, but a positive identification won't be made until the medical examiner's office examines her. A search was continuing for the body of a 3-year-old girl who remained missing following Saturday's accident, police said.
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The bodies of three boys -- ages 4, 7 and 11 -- were found inside the vehicle. The driver and another adult escaped from the vehicle, along with a 10-year-old girl.
Police said the adult passenger, who is Jenkins' brother, told them Jenkins was the father of four of the children, including the 10-year-old girl who escaped.
The car crashed into a tributary about two miles away from where it feeds into Greens Bayou, a waterway that begins in northern Harris County and flows eastward and then south for about 40 miles before emptying into the Houston Ship Channel.
A helicopter spotted the body of a girl around 11:25 a.m. Sunday about half a mile from where the vehicle went into the ditch. By mid-afternoon, police were no longer searching by air, but a search on the ground continued and a police dive team was expected to search as well, Smith said.
Texas EquuSearch, a volunteer search organization, had about 45 people helping in the search, said Frank Black, a coordinator for the group.
Before the discovery of the body on Sunday, family members and friends joined the search, walking with police officers along the grassy tributary, which was no longer filled with raging waters.
"We know they are not going to be found alive. But we're hoping that they can just find them," said Cheri Smith, 40, whose cousin is the mother of the two little girls. The girls, who are sisters, were cousins of the other children in the car, she said.
At least 30 family members and friends were gathered at the accident site earlier in the day. After the discovery of the body, some gathered in a circle and prayed.
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Family members indicated that they were too upset to talk after the body was found, saying only that their main concern was finding the second girl's body.
The accident was called in around 5 p.m. on Saturday but the vehicle wasn't located in the ditch, which had filled with 9½ feet of water, until 2½ hours later.
