Toxicology reports of a 21-year-old central Arkansas woman show she had alcohol in her system during a fatal head-on crash with an ambulance that injured two paramedics in January.
The state Alcohol Beverage Control released its final report this week detailing how Brianna Carter was drinking at a Little Rock bar until about 5 a.m. before the fatal Jan. 6 crash along Interstate 40 near Maumelle.
Two emergency medical responders were injured, and Carter died at the scene after suffering fatal injuries, authorities said.
Investigators reviewed video footage of Carter drinking three to four beers and a shot of whiskey at Midtown Billiards in Little Rock before leaving at around 4:50 a.m., according to the report. State agents also noted that Carter spoke with a Little Rock Police Department officer before leaving the bar.
A state Crime Lab report showed the woman's ethanol content levels were .164. The tests indicate Carter had consumed alcohol, but it's unclear how those results translate to her blood alcohol content level. A forensic toxicologist with the lab said she couldn't comment beyond the results.
State officials said it’s difficult to show if the bar at which she drank is liable for the wreck due to several factors.
A person told investigators that marijuana may have also played a role in the crash, the report shows. The report did not appear to test for the main chemical found in marijuana.
“Many events occurred prior to Ms. Carter entering the Bar, and it is unknown what events may have occurred after her exiting the Bar that could have led to the fatal accident,” a state agent wrote in the report.
An Arkansas State Police report said Carter at some point entered I-40 the wrong way before hitting the ambulance around 5:15 a.m.
Paul Sanchez, a 22-year-old medic whose foot was trapped and injured in the wreck, described seeing headlights before an instant impact that morning, in an interview last month.
The crash broke Sanchez’s femur in two places, as well as another two places in his heel, which will require months of physical therapy. His partner, Darius Williams, was released from the hospital on the same day as the crash with minor injuries.
Carter’s obituary in the Democrat-Gazette said she went by her middle name, Hope, among friends and family and described her as “full of life” and competitive at sports and activities.
“Anyone who knew Hope, knew two things for sure, she loved and adored her family, and she had the most incredible, genuine, and contagious, smile that they've ever seen,” the obituary said.