Country star Kylie Rae Harris was drunk and speeding at the time of the fatal collision that took her life as well as that of 16-year-old Maria Elena Cruz.
A full investigation was launched shortly after the Sept. 4 crash and on Thursday the Taos County Sheriff’s Office confirmed that Harris, 30, was intoxicated and driving at 102 miles per hour when her vehicle collided with Cruz's.
A toxicology and postmortem report revealed that Harris' blood alcohol concentration at the time of her death was .28, which is more than three times the legal limit.
Commenting on the findings, Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe said the investigation supported what they had suspected at the time of the initial investigation -- that alcohol consumption and speeding were contributing factors in the incident.
Both Harris and Cruz were pronounced dead at the scene. At the time of the crash, Harris was driving a black 2017 Chevrolet Equinox along State Road 522 when she lost control of her vehicle after making contact with a pickup truck, Fox News reported. She veered into oncoming traffic which is when her vehicle collided head on with Cruz's.
Harris had a history of drunk driving, Fox News noted. She was charged with driving while intoxicated in June 2017 and convicted four months later after records found her blood alcohol content level was nearly twice the legal limit.
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