Fatal crash blamed on underage drinking

  MONTGOMERY COUNTY, TX (KTRK) -- Montgomery County authorities are investigating a fatal crash that left one person dead and three others injured, and they say the teenage driver had been drinking.

The accident happened around 2am Sunday. Details were not released, but the district attorney's office tells us 18-year-old David Wiggins was behind the wheel.

Wiggins was transported to a local hospital where investigators interviewed him. It was determined that alcohol was involved in the crash and that Wiggins had left a party at the home of a woman named Diane Kinsey.

There were three passengers in Wiggins' car. One of them died. That victim's name has not been released.

The investigation is ongoing and any witnesses with information about the party or the crash are asked to contact DPS or the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office.

Officials warn that serving alcohol to a person under 21 is a crime and also may involve civil liability.

They say this is the third underage drinking-related fatal crash in this area of Montgomery County in the last few months.

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Lightning blamed for Mongtomery County house fire

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- In the height of the storms that rolled through Thursday evening, one family's home was burning. It was all sparked by a lightning strike at Revelwood near Tamina in Montgomery County.

The crazy thing is the this isn't the first time the family has had to deal with lightning. Two months ago, lightning struck one of their trees. On Thursday, lightning struck another tree and then jumped to the house.

"I hear a massive pop," fire victim Taylor Baumann said.

School work for 17-year-old Taylor Baumann and his two younger brothers was abruptly interrupted first by that pop and then by fire.

"Fifteen seconds later, we just could smell smoke. We didn't have smoke in the house but we could smell it and we looked out the window and all the sudden, it was just billowing smoke outside," he said.

The boys, who are homeschooled, and their mother quickly got out as flames engulfed the attic, right above Taylor's room. Lightning had struck.

"It was very hot. We had to put alot of water on it," Taylor's father, Frank Baumann, said.

The room and half of the house is now a soggy mess, as Frank Baumann showed us. The waterlogged ceilings have started to cave in on the wood floors he laid himself.

Renovating the home has been a constant project ever since the family moved in three years ago.

"We've put alot of work into the house and then when someothing like this happens, it's kind of deflating but I could my blessings that my family was OK. Everybody got out of the house, dogs got out of the house, and eveyrbody's fine," Frank Baumann said.

The family has strong faith and a strong support system from their church. Many of them were out Thursday night to help the Baumanns out.

The family plans on staying with friends and hotels until they can get back into the house, which likely won't be for another six months.

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Heater blamed for duplex fire in NE Houston

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Fire officials say a bathroom heater may have started a fire that damaged a duplex in northeast Houston.

The blaze was reported just after 3pm Saturday in the 2000 block of Turner at Aldine Westfield.

When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke coming from the back of one of the residences.

Initially, there were reports of people possibly trapped in the building, but firefighters searched and confirmed that everyone got out safely.

The duplex sustained around $40,000 in smoke and fire damage, officials said. They were able to knock out the fire in about 15 minutes before the structure was completely destroyed.

According to the Houston Fire Department, most of the damage was to the rear of the building and Christmas presents were located in the front of the house, so many of them may be OK.

Officials are reminding you to keep track of all the potential fire hazards in your homes, including Christmas trees, lighting, furnaces, candles and space heaters.

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