- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Authorities: Woman at the wheel in SUV crash that killed family had blood alcohol over the legal limit
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office released the new findings in the March crash that killed the Hart family of Woodland, Wash.
Authorities say Jennifer Jean Hart, 38, was at the wheel of the GMC Yukon SUV that was found by a passerby in the ocean at the bottom of a 100-foot cliff at the edge of a dirt turnout along Highway 1 south of Juan Creek in Westport on March 26.
Firefighters arriving at the scene found Hart and her wife, Sarah Margaret Hart, 38, still inside the vehicle, while three of their children six children – Markis Hart, 19, Jeremiah Hart, 14, and Abigail Hart, 14 – were located outside of the vehicle.
The California Highway Patrol, which is conducting the crash investigation, said that it appears the crash may have been intentional, as there were no signs of braking or skid marks in the turnout.
On Friday, Capt. Greg Van Patten of the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said the agency’s coroner's division received preliminary blood alcohol and toxicology analysis results connected to autopsies that were previously performed on the bodies of the Hart family members who have been recovered.
He said those preliminary results showed Jennifer Hart had a blood alcohol level of 0.102, which is above California’s legal limit of 0.08.
The tests also revealed that Sarah Hart and two of the children had a positive toxicology finding in their blood for diphenhydramine, an active ingredient in Benadryl, he said.
The coroner's division is still awaiting the blood alcohol and toxicology analysis of the third child whose body was recovered on March 26, Van Patten said.
Van Patten said Friday that the coroner's division was not releasing the names of the children associated with these toxicology findings.
Meanwhile, efforts to find the Harts’ other three children – Devonte Hart, 15, Hannah Hart, 16, and Sierra Hart, 12 – have continued since the wrecked SUV was found.
Last Saturday, the body of a black female, whose age and identity couldn’t be confirmed – was found in the surf near the crash site, as Lake County News has reported. All of the Harts’ adopted children are black.
The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office this week continued its shoreline searches for signs of the missing children or physical evidence from the crash, but Van Patten said they didn’t find anything.
He said searches of the Mendocino County coastline will continue with on-duty patrol deputies as calls for service allow.
Mendocino County Search & Rescue divers won’t deploy to the crash site area until ocean conditions improve, he said.
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