Kylie Rae Harris Was Drunk & Speeding Before Fatal Crash, Police Reveal

Kylie Rae Harris was drunk and speeding when she caused a car crash that killed her and 16-year-old girl Maria Elena Cruz in September, the Taos County Sheriff’s Office revealed in a press release, per People, on Thursday (December 5).

“Data [from the cars’ on-board computers] showed Ms. Harris’ speed at 102 miles per hour at the time of the first collision event before crossing into the oncoming lane and striking Ms. Cruz’ vehicle at 95 miles per hour,” a spokesperson for the TCSO said. Authorities also noted that a toxicology report indicated that the country singer's blood alcohol concentration was .28, which is three times the legal limit. “The now-completed 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.

As previously reported, Kylie, who was convicted of driving while intoxicated in June 2017, died in a three-vehicle crash in Taos, New Mexico on September 3. Days later the Taos County Sheriff's Office revealed that they suspected speed and alcohol were to blame for the fatal crash.

According to Taos News, investigators with Taos County Sheriff's Office determined that Kylie was driving south on State Road 522 toward Taos, New Mexico in a 2017 black Chevrolet Equinox. Officials said Kylie "clipped the back of a black Chevrolet Avalanche sending her vehicle into the northbound lane, causing her to hit the white 2008 Jeep driven by the teenage girl head-on." Sheriff Jerry stated at the time, "...I will say with most certainty that Miss Cruz was an innocent victim of this senseless crash caused by Ms. Harris."

Both Kylie and Maria died at the scene. While the third driver was uninjured.

Days after Kylie's fatal crash, the 30-year-old country singer's mother, Betsy Cowan, opened up to People about her late daughter's fatal car accident, telling the mag that alcohol is "something [Kylie] struggled with on-and-off over the years." While officials had not yet officially ruled if Kylie was intoxicated, her mom said the “results are the same” to her “regardless of what caused it."

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