4 Bodies Recovered From Flooded Car

HOUSTON - Police say they have recovered four of the five Houston children who died after the sedan they were passengers in slid into a rain-swollen ditch near Greens Bayou when the driver lost control while trying to answer a cell phone.

The driver, identified as Chanton Jenkins, is expected to be charged with at least one count of intoxication manslaughter after failing a sobriety test says Houston Police Department Spokesperson Kese Smith

Smith says that an HPD dive team assisted in pulling the vehicle from the bayou last night. Inside the vehicle were the bodies of three male children; a 4-year old, 7-year old and 11-year old, says Smith.

The body of a fourth female child was recovered shortly before noon after it was spotted from the air by an HPD chopper that was assisting in the search, say officials.

Police say members of Texas Equusearch will assist in the search  for the remaining child as they establish a command post in the 14500 block of John F. Kennedy Blvd.

Houston Fire Department Assistant Chief Omero Longoria says rescue workers found the car in a drainage ditch filled with 9 feet of water at approximately 7:30 p.m. Saturday, almost 100 feet from where the driver lost control more than two hours earlier at approximately 5 p.m.

Houston police spokesman John Cannon said the driver was the father of the four of the children.

The car, possibly a Lincoln Continental, was caught up in a flash flood as thunderstorms moved through Houston.

It is believed some of the passengers, including at least two adult brothers and one child, were able to escape the vehicle before it fell in.

Police confirm that the driver did fail a field sobriety test after officers say they smelled the odor of alcohol on his breath. Cannon said his blood alcohol level would be verified to determine if he was intoxicated.

The man who was the passenger told investigators that his brother was struggling to hold a cell phone when he allegedly lost control of the car.

Members of the Houston police dive team waited for the fast-moving water to calm before they tried to access the car.

A crew from the Houston Fire Department began to search for the children on Saturday afternoon in an area near Greens Road and Aldine Westfield within approximately one mile along the waterway.

Firefighters said Saturday evening that they were treating the search as a recovery effort, rather than a rescue.

Both Houston police and an investigator from the Harris County District Attorney's Office arrived to take part in the search on Saturday.