ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. (AP) -- A man drove his car into his in-laws' house in a fiery Christmas Day crash, killing himself and his two children minutes before he was supposed to turn them over to his estranged wife, according to media reports.
Shahab Behzadpour, his 3-year-old son, Sammi, and 6-year-old daughter, Nikki, died in the crash in Altamonte Springs, a northern Orlando suburb.
Behzadpour and his wife, Hope Custodio, had shared custody of the children and he was supposed to let them spend Christmas afternoon with his wife, relatives and neighbors told WKMG-TV of Orlando.
The car hit a pillar at the front of the house and caught fire.
Custodio's brother Alex Custodio told WFTV-TV of Orlando that he believed his brother-in-law intentionally rammed the house, and that Behzadpour had threatened to harm himself and the children in the past.
Alex Custodio said the family did not immediately know who was in the car when the crash occurred.
``The whole thing was in flames ...'' he said. ``It was burning real fast and my wife said there was somebody inside there. She was trying to get the fire extinguisher and it wouldn't work, then we just got away because we thought it was going to explode and then we found out it was my brother-in-law's car.''
The Altamonte Springs police department and Orange County Sheriff's Department did not immediately return phone messages and pages Thursday night.
