REVERE, MASS. (WHDH) - A Boston woman arrested in connection with a deadly pedestrian crash in Revere that left one child dead and a woman and infant critically injured told police she may have “nodded off” after taking prescription medication and vaping CBD oil in her car, prosecutors said.
Autumn Harris, 42, of Beacon Hill was ordered held on $10,000 cash bail following her arraignment Monday in Chelsea District Court on charges of motor vehicle homicide and negligent operation of a motor vehicle for her alleged role in the collision near the intersection of Route 145 and North Shore Road that claimed the life of 5-year-old Adrianna Mejia-Rivera and left a 2-month-old infant in critical condition, Suffolk County District Attorney John P. Pappas said.
Officials say that evidence gathered by the State Police Suffolk County Detective Unit, State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, and Revere Police detectives suggests that Harris was behind the wheel of a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox shortly before 5 p.m. Sunday when it left the roadway and struck a group of five pedestrians on a sidewalk along the median strip of Route 145.
“There are no words to describe our sorrow for this innocent child and her family,” Pappas said. “We will follow the evidence wherever it leads and we will do our level best to speak on their behalf in the wake of this devastating tragedy.”
Officials say that Mejia-Rivera was pronounced dead at the scene, and the 2-month-old child was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital, where she remains in the Intensive Care Unit.
The third child and the two adult victims were hospitalized with less serious injuries, as was Harris’ passenger, a 30-year-old female., according to the DA’s office.
Police say Harris allegedly stated that she had consumed one beer earlier in the afternoon, that she 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 yesterday.
She allegedly stated that she had vaped CBD oil in the vehicle and that she might have nodded off at the wheel.
Harris returns to court Jan. 10, 2019.
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