North Texas country singer Kylie Rae Harris' blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit and she was driving at 102 mph when she caused a deadly crash in northern New Mexico in September, according to new information released by the Taos County Sheriff's Office. The crash left her and a 16-year-old girl dead.
The Taos County Sheriff's Office said in September that Harris caused the three-vehicle crash due to speed and alcohol. On Sept. 4, Harris clipped the back of another vehicle while she was going 102 mph and then crashed head-on into Maria Elena Cruz at 95 mph, according to a news release posted Thursday. The sheriff's office said that was determined through on-board computer data.
According to a toxicology report, Harris' blood alcohol concentration at the time of her death was .28, which is three times the legal limit for impaired driving, the sheriff’s office said.
The Taos High School student died at the scene. The responding emergency crew included her father, Pedro Cruz, the deputy chief of the San Cristobal Volunteer Fire Department.
No alcohol was present in Maria, the sheriff’s office said.
"The now competed investigation supports what we suspected at the time of our initial investigation and my earlier press release that stated alcohol consumption was suspected and speeding was a factor," Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said.
Harris had a prior conviction for driving while intoxicated in Collin County in 2017 and was ordered to install an ignition interlock device on her vehicle. She was originally from Wylie.
