HOUSTON — A 37-year-old East Texas man was sentenced to four life sentences after he killed a mother and three children in a crash last year.
Daniel Canada was convicted last week of four counts of intoxication manslaughter. The trial lasted three weeks. The four life sentences will be served concurrently.
“This heartbreaking case shows that a single person’s irresponsibility and bad decisions can result in the deaths of multiple people who are completely innocent, including kids,” Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg said.
What happened
Canada was visiting Houston from Longview on March 14, 2021, when he was driving about 100 mph on FM 2920. He crashed into a car that was being driven by Porsha Branch.
It happened at about 8:20 p.m. Canada's blood alcohol level was 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit. A blood test also revealed he had Xanax and marijuana in his system.
Branch's car burst into flames in the seven-car pileup. The 28-year-old and her three sons -- 7-month-old Drake, 2-year-old Messiah and 5-year-old King -- were instantly killed.
Canada survived the crash with minor injuries.
What the sentence means
Assistant District Attorney Lynn Nguyen prosecuted the case.
She said the verdict shows that the residents of Harris County are tired of drunken driving deaths and will hold defendants accountable.
“Daniel Canada robbed three young children of the opportunity to grow into the people they could have become,” Nguyen said. “He robbed a mother of her life, a father of his entire family, and the community of a wonderful group of people, and he did all of this simply out of selfishness.”