PROVO — A 3-month-old girl was killed and the mother who was holding her baby unrestrained was critically injured when the car they were riding in crashed early Thursday, police say.
The driver of the Honda SUV had a blood-alcohol content of nearly three times the legal limit, according to police.
When Provo police administered a field test to Chelsea Fuller at the scene, she recorded a blood-alcohol level of 0.185, according to a police affidavit filed in 4th District Court. But when Fuller was given another test with better equipment at the Provo police station, her blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.233, nearly two hours after the crash, the affidavit states.
Fuller, 29, of Orem, was driving Susanne McClellan, 38, of Provo, and her baby, Brylee McClellan, about 4 a.m. when she failed to make a turn at the intersection at 820 N. Oakmont Lane and her vehicle "left the roadway, struck a tree and rolled onto its left side," according to a statement from Provo police.
No one inside the vehicle was properly restrained. McClellan was holding her daughter in her arms in the back seat when the vehicle crashed, said Provo Police Lt. Brian Taylor.
Brylee was taken to Primary Children's Hospital where she died about 8:45 a.m., according to police. Her mother, who hit the windshield when the vehicle rolled, was taken to a local hospital for "multiple fractures to the face and skull, as well as large lacerations to the head and face," the report states.
She underwent surgery Thursday and remained in the hospital, Taylor said.
Fuller was booked into the Utah County Jail for investigation of automobile homicide, felony DUI, failure to use a seat belt, failing to use a child restraint and failure to stay in her lane.
Prosecutors will consider a charge of reckless endangerment for McClellan when she is released from the hospital, according to Taylor.
Taylor believes Fuller was driving McClellan and her daughter home at the time of the crash. Detectives were investigating why Fuller decided to drive or whether McClellan was sober enough to drive. The first responding officers "could smell a very strong odor of alcohol coming from the breath and body of both Chelsea and Susanne," according to the affidavit.
Fuller was convicted of DUI in October of 2012 and pleaded no contest to impaired driving in January of 2012, according to Utah state court records.
"Chelsea also has a history of substance abuse," the affidavit states.
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