Driver of January fatal crash that killed 4 children had double the legal alcohol limit

Washington State Patrol (WSP) troopers and investigators revealed through a toxicology report that the Sumner woman who crashed her SUV last January — killing herself and four children inside — had a blood alcohol level that was more than double the legal limit.

The driver, Kiarra Monaghan, 29, reportedly had a blood-alcohol content that was 0.201% when she drove nearly 100 miles per hour on State Route 512. She soon lost control of her vehicle and hit an overpass, eventually crashing into a pillar and catching fire, killing all five people inside including Monaghan’s daughter, son and two 11-year-old girls, one related to a family friend, according to Monaghan’s sister Heather Jolicoeur via FOX 13.

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WSP Troopers also reported Monaghan was at a gathering with other adults before she loaded the kids into her vehicle. The road enforcement agency was investigating what led to the crash while waiting for the toxicology report, which included combing through social media posts that appeared to show Monaghan consuming alcohol just hours before she got into the fatal crash.

Jolicoeur shared with FOX 13 that Monaghan had social media videos of her drinking out of a shot glass and slurring her words from the gathering.

“I’m so mad at her, and so disappointed. She was raised better than that. It’s not like her,” Jolicoeur told FOX 13. “I know if you are at my house with kids and you are drinking, you are not driving.”

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The medical examiner listed the manner of all five deaths as an accident and no charges have been filed, according to KIRO Newsradio.

Frank Sumrall is a content editor at MyNorthwest. You can read his stories here and you can email him here.