4 dead, 3 injured after car hits taxi on Nasa Parkway

Authorities say four people are dead and two others are in critical condition after a car drifted into oncoming traffic and slammed into a taxi cab in Pasadena overnight.

The crash happened on E. Nasa Parkway at Lakeview around 1:30 a.m. Saturday.

Pasadena police spokesman Vance Mitchell said Saturday the impact sounded like an "explosion" to an officer who happened to be near the early-morning crash. He said there was no actual fire but described the accident scene as "horrendous."

Investigators say the car that hit the taxi, a black Mazda Miata, apparently went too fast around a curve and lost control. Mitchell said two people in the Mazda died along with two passengers in the backseat of the taxi minivan.

The taxi driver and a front-seat passenger were airlifted to a hospital with critical injuries.

Authorities have not yet released names or ages of the victims, but they said alcohol is believed to be a factor in the crash.

Police said the two people in the Miata were in their 20s. They live in North Texas but were in the Houston area for a weekend of fun.

The victims in the minivan were said to be a family visiting from Dallas. They were scheduled to leave on a cruise out of Galveston later in the morning, police said.