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Backhoe joy ride tragedy: Roanoke Tx dad charged after kids, 7&11 die in freak fall

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Vijender Chauhan Roanoke Tx
Pictured, Vijender Chauhan Roanoke, Texas man. Image via police bookings.
Vijender Chauhan Roanoke Tx
Pictured, Vijender Chauhan Roanoke, Texas man. Image via police bookings.

Vijender Chauhan Roanoke, Texas man charged in the freak accident deaths of his two children after falling off and being run over by a backhoe the father was driving. 

A Texas man is facing manslaughter charges after running over and killing his two young children with a backhoe in what Denton County officials are describing as a freak accident.

Vijender Chauhan, 40, was driving a backhoe along a private road near Roanoke on Saturday evening, in what was supposed to be a ‘joy ride’, when he caused the front bucket to dump, leading to his two children who were riding in it to fall to the ground and inadvertently fatally run over. 

The man’s daughter, Sonakshi , 7 and son, Raj, 11, were pronounced dead at the scene just before 8 p.m. Two other children and an adult who had also been riding on the backhoe were rushed to hospitals, officials said — the adult with serious injuries, the Denton Record-Chronicle reported

The two victims were students at a private Fort Worth school.

‘It is difficult to find the words to express the sorrow we all feel for the loss of our young students,’ Head of School, Blair Lowry wrote in an email to parents that was obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Chauhan, who was uninjured, was charged with two counts of manslaughter carrying a prison sentence of anywhere from two to 20 years. Manslaughter is a second-degree felony that carries a sentence of two to 20 years in prison if convicted. Someone commits the offense if they recklessly cause a person’s death.

Chauhan was additionally charged with three counts of endangering a child and one count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

He is free on $280,000 bail. 

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