Driver charged after 11-month-old, 11-year-old struck by car in Manchester

Two children have life-threatening injuries after they were hit by a car in Manchester. The crash happened around 4 p.m. Thursday.

Police said a family was crossing Belmont Street near Lake Avenue when a speeding car hit the two children. According to an affidavit in the case, the children are 11 months old and 11 years old. Both children were taken to Boston hospitals for treatment.

The car then hit a pole, but kept going before crashing into another car at the intersection of Belmont and Hanover streets.

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Both drivers were hurt but will be OK.

Police said the driver of the car that struck the children, Justin LaClair, 23, of Manchester, faces charges including aggravated DWI, two counts of reckless conduct with a deadly weapon and two counts of conduct after an accident.

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According to an affidavit, LaClair initially told responding officers he had been walking to a store and not driving a vehicle, and claimed he had no knowledge of any crash. He later admitted to an officer he was driving and had been drinking, according to police.

During an interview with another officer, LaClair described getting into an argument with his girlfriend and also the number of alcoholic beverages he consumed Thursday afternoon, according to court documents.

LaClair later said he blacked out after the crash and the first thing he remembered after the crash was waking up in the hospital, according to the affidavit.

LaClair is scheduled to be arraigned Friday morning.

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