A woman who said she vaped with a cannabinoid oil, drank a beer and was still feeling the effects of a sleep aid and muscle relaxant is...
A woman who said she vaped with a cannabinoid oil, drank a beer and was still feeling the effects of a sleep aid and muscle relaxant is accused of plowing into two families with her SUV in Revere Sunday, killing a 5-year-old girl and critically injuring the tot’s baby sister, prosecutors said.
Autumn L. Harris, 42, of Chelsea, wept at her arraignment Monday as Chelsea District Court Judge Matthew J. Machera ordered the Pipefitters Local 537 member held on $10,000 cash bail.
“A lot of hearts are broken, especially hers,” the woman’s mother, Maureen Harris, 71, said outside the courthouse. “I feel so bad for those children. I pray there’s a solution to what happened because she loves kids.”
Her daughter pleaded not guilty to charges of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation and negligent operation of a motor vehicle — a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox her mother said she only recently purchased so she wouldn’t have to take a train to work in Allston.
Five-year-old Adrianna Mejia-Rivera was pronounced dead at the scene. Her infant sister was also hit and is listed in critical condition in intensive care, prosecutors said.
Assistant District Attorney Masai King, chief of the Suffolk District Attorney’s Motor Vehicle Fatality Unit, said Autumn Harris admitted to mixing a sleep aid and muscle relaxer the night before.
“She did in fact ingest Melatonin and Flexeril, but she only had about two hours sleep and then she worked a full day on Sunday as a pipe fitter, and that she may have nodded off just prior to the crash,” said King.
“She also admitted to vaping CBD oil,” King said, “which to my limited knowledge is either cannabis or hemp oil … I don’t have any further information to report to the court relative to that.”
Harris was tested by a police officer certified in drug recognition. Those results are still pending, King said. CBD is a chemical found in pot plants, but unlike THC, it is not psychoactive. It is sold at gas stations and health food stores.
A beer can was found underneath the vehicle. However, the breathalyzer he said Harris submitted to was inconclusive because she was unable to properly blow into the machine.
“The five pedestrians were standing in the median strip where there’s a crosswalk, waiting for the light to change,” King added. “This defendant’s motor vehicle veered to the left and struck all five. Unfortunately, the 5-year-old victim was pronounced deceased at the scene. In addition, her 2-month-old sister was transported to Boston Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. There’s a chance that child will not survive.”
Maureen Harris said her daughter is “in shame.”
“It’s awful,” she added. “I just want to hold her, you know? She’s probably suicidal at this point. I mean, wouldn’t you be? It’s terrible.”
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