Officials ID 2-year-old girl killed in Bedford crash; driver faces manslaughter charge

Officials have identified a driver who faces a manslaughter charge and a 2-year-old girl who died Saturday after being injured in a wreck on Texas 121 in Bedford.

The girl was Avyanna Caro, who died at a Grapevine hospital, according to the Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office website. She was pronounced dead at 3:31 p.m. Saturday from blunt force injuries.

Avyanna, who was in a car seat, was a passenger in a car that was hit by a pickup truck on northbound Texas 121 just north of the Cheek-Sparger Road exit. The driver of the pickup truck was arrested.

On Monday, Bedford officials identified the driver as Joshua Paul Hagger, 36, of Mansfield, and said he faces a charge of manslaughter in the case.

Bedford detectives determined Hagger’s pickup truck was traveling at a high rate of speed when it hit the car, fatally injuring Avyanna, and causing injuries to the sedan’s other passengers. Another child was among those injured, according to the Euless Fire Department.

Hagger was in the Euless Jail on Monday, and additional charges may be added at a later date, Bedford officials said. Hagger’s bond will be set by Tarrant County magistrates once he is transferred to the Tarrant County Jail.

Molly Fox, the communications director for Bedford, said that at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday the truck was traveling on Texas 121 northbound when it plowed into the the back of a silver sedan on the passenger side.

The crash remains under investigation.