NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) -- Two children were seriously hurt, one even requiring intubation, after their father's drunken actions back in November 2023, a release states. Man pleads guilty after seriously hurting his 2 kids in drunken crash Just after midnight on Nov. 24, 2023, 37-year-old Gary Anthony Sanders II was driving while drunk, measuring a blood alcohol content of between 0.16 and 0.18 — at least twice the legal limit. His two young children were in the back seat while he was heading northbound on Crowell Road. While intoxicated, Sanders drove up onto the median at a high rate of speed before striking a tree head-on. Gary Sanders (Courtesy of Norfolk City Jail) The crash resulted in the engine block of the car going into the front seat area. The oldest child had a booster seat improperly secured. The child flew forward from behind the driver's side and hit the back of the front passenger seat during the crash. A bystander helped save the day. While walking by, they saw smoke coming from the car, heard the screams of children and pulled the two children from the car before police arrived. The elder child was alert, bleeding after losing teeth, and was later found to have a fractured femur. The other, younger child who had been in a car seat on the rear passenger side was in and out of consciousness and at one point stopped breathing, requiring intubation. That child was found to have suffered a spine fracture, a forearm fracture and bruises to the lungs. Luckily, both children have since recovered from their injuries. Officers found Sanders with glassy eyes, slurred speech, and a strong odor of alcohol, he could not remember what happened, and he was injured with a broken knee and unable to perform any sobriety or breath tests. Opened cans of beer were found inside the car, one of which was in the front cup holder, as well as an open liquor bottle inside a backpack that had been in the front passenger seat. A search warrant for Sanders’ medical records indicated that following the crash he had a blood alcohol content of between 0.16 and 0.18. On Oct. 17, Sanders agreed to plead guilty to driving while intoxicated and two counts of felony child abuse resulting in a serious injury. Judge Lindsey sentenced Sanders to serve one year and 11 months in prison and suspended another nine years and one month in custody on the conditions that Sanders complete the Virginia Alcohol Safety Program, complete three years of uniform good behavior and supervised probation following his release, has his driving privileges suspended for 12 months, and has his driving privileges further restricted to using an ignition interlock device for six months following the restoration of his license. “Drunk driving is a totally preventable crime that endangers other people. Here, Mr. Sanders’s criminally reckless behavior could have cost the lives of his own children, who did nothing to put themselves in this dangerous situation,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Ramin Fatehi. “While I hope that the rehabilitative options that Mr. Sanders will have on his release will help him to avoid repeating his crime, Mr. Sanders still earned a sentence of confinement for the wrongness of his actions. My office and I will continue to seek accountability for people who endanger themselves and others on our roads.”