Trending

Country star Kylie Rae Harris' blood alcohol three times legal limit in fatal crash

FILE PHOTO: Country singer and songwriter Kylie Rae Harris died in a three-car accident Wednesday night in New Mexico.

Rising country star Kylie Rae Harris was drunk and speeding at the time of the September crash that killed her and a teenage driver, New Mexico authorities confirmed.

>> Read more trending news

Taos County Sheriff Jerry Hogrefe stated in a news release late Thursday that investigators have determined Harris, 30, was traveling as fast as 102 mph with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.28, or more than three times the legal limit, just before the Sept. 4 crash that killed both the singer and Maria Elena Cruz, 16, of nearby San Cristobal.

According to The Dallas Morning News, Hogrefe said investigators believe Harris clipped the back of one vehicle, careened into oncoming traffic and then struck Cruz' vehicle head-on.

 

On-board computer data showed Harris was driving 95 mph when the accident occurred, the newspaper reported.

Both Harris and Cruz were wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, and the driver of the third vehicle was uninjured, the Taos News reported.

According to the newspaper, Harris was en route to perform at the Big Barn Dance, a four-day music festival in Taos, when the crash occurred.

Citing Collin County court records, CNN reported Harris was convicted in 2017 of driving with a blood alcohol concentration above 0.15, resulting in a five-day jail sentence, a 180-day suspension of her driver’s license and the installation of an ignition interlock device on her vehicle.