Country singer Kylie Rae Harris dies in triple vehicle car crash
Headed to her performance at the Big Barn Music Festival, Kylie Rae Harris was killed along with a 16-year old girl in a fatal car wreck. The 3-car collision occurred on a road near Taos, New Mexico. The Taos County Sheriff's Office has released few details, but alcohol is suspected as a cause of the crash. Authorities have not released toxicology reports on any of the drivers involved.
Police in New Mexico have determined that speed and alcohol played a factor in the fatal car crash that killed country singer Kylie Rae Harris and 16-year-old Maria Elena Cruz in September.
The Taos County Sheriff’s Office announced in a press release Thursday that it had completed its investigation into the Sept. 4 accident and can confirm that Harris was intoxicated and driving well above the speed limit at the time of the accident. Meanwhile, Cruz was determined to have had no alcohol in her system.
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According to the press release, investigators collected data from the vehicles on-board computers. The data showed that Harris was traveling at 102 miles per hour at the time of her first collision, which sent her into the oncoming lane of traffic where she struck Cruz’s vehicle at roughly 95 miles per hour.
Country singer Kylie Rae Harris died in the crash. She also killed a 16-year-old girl, Maria Elena Cruz, whose father was a first responder on the scene of the accident. (Taos County Sheriff's Office)
Furthermore, a toxicology and post mortem report determined that Harris' blood alcohol concentration at the time of her death was at .28, which is more than three times the legal limit for impaired driving.
“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 in the statement.
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Law enforcement previously said Harris was traveling south on State Road 522 in a black 2017 Chevrolet Equinox when the SUV made contact with the back of a Chevrolet Avalanche pickup truck. Authorities said the maneuver caused Harris to veer left into oncoming northbound traffic where her vehicle collided head-on with a white 2008 Jeep Liberty driven by the teenage girl.
Kylie Rae Harris died at age 30 after a three-vehicle crash in Taos, New Mexico. She was reportedly at fault for the crash, which also killed a 16-year-old girl. (Instagram)
Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Avalanche was uninjured.
Police said Pedro Cruz, a Taos County firefighter/EMT, responded to the scene and found his daughter Maria dead upon arrival.
Court records indicate that Harris had a history of drinking and driving. In June 2017, she was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated after records indicated she had a blood alcohol content level of over 0.15, nearly twice the legal limit. Harris was convicted in October 2017 and was ordered to have an ignition interlock device installed in her car.
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The Texas crooner was also cited for speeding in 2014, when she was clocked going 81 in a 60 MPH zone.
Fox News' Julius Young contributed to this report.
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