CHELSEA, MASS. (WHDH) - The woman accused of plowing into five pedestrians with her car in Revere last month, leading to the deaths of two young sisters, says she feels heartbroken.
Autumn Harris, of Beacon Hill, appeared in Chelsea District Court for a pretrial hearing Thursday in connection to the Dec. 9 fatal pedestrian crash that killed 5-year-old Adrianna Mejia-Rivera and 2-month-old Natasha Nicole Mejia-Rivera.
“I’m heartbroken. I feel horrible,” she told reporters as she left the courthouse. “I’m sorry to the family.”
On Dec. 9 shortly before 5 p.m., Harris struck the group of pedestrians on a sidewalk along the median strip of Route 145 with her 2015 Chevrolet Equinox, police said.
Adrianna Mejia-Rivera was declared dead at the scene and her sister, Natasha Nicole Mejia-Rivera, died three days later at a local hospital, according to the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office.
Harris allegedly told police that she had consumed one beer earlier in the afternoon, had taken prescription and over-the-counter medication to help her sleep the night before, and that she had only slept two hours before working all day the day before.
She also stated that she had vaped CBD oil in the vehicle and that she might have nodded off at the wheel, prosecutors said.
In 2014, authorities say Harris was acquitted in a drunken driving case. Driving records indicate she was also arrested on an OUI charge in 2011.
Harris’ pretrial hearing on Thursday was rescheduled for March 11 due to an unavailable attorney.
She remains free on $10,000 cash bail on the condition that she remains drug and alcohol free.
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