Springfield, MOA fatal car accident that happened March 19, killing a woman from Aurora, is under investigation by the Missouri Highway Patrol, who suspect that alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the crash.
Thirty-seven year old Tara Williams died after the car she was driving, a 2001 Hyundia Accent, was pushed into the oncoming traffic by a Chevrolet Malibu driven by a 26-year old woman.
William's car was subsequently hit by a 2006 Chrysler Town and Country driven by 76-year old Kenneth Dodson. Both Dodson and his 67-year old wife, Claire Dodson, were injured in the crash and transported to St. John's Hospital.
Although no charges have been laid, Sgt Robert Proctor who is involved in the investigation, told a local news outlet that one of the drivers was found to be intoxicated when tested at the scene of the crash. "Any time there's a fatality anymore, we're supposed to test all surviving drivers, regardless if they've been drinking, even if we can tell they haven't," Proctor said. The accident crash report states that two surviving drivers in the accident had been tested for alcohol, and the search warrant executed for the Malibu "opinioned that (the driver of the Malibu) was driving under the influence of alcohol."
The search warrant will also recover data from the Malibu's event data recorder, which logs things like the speed and brake status of the car at the time of the accident, the Springfield, MO News-Leader reported.