18-year-old woman driving drunk crashes into light pole and tree, killing 16-year-old and breaking the spine of another passenger: Cops

An 18-year-old woman was driving drunk with her friends when she crashed into a light pole and tree, causing the death of one of her passengers and breaking the spine of another, authorities in Texas say.

Arissa Adams is charged with intoxication manslaughter with a vehicle and two counts of intoxication assault with a vehicle, according to Potter County jail records reviewed by Law&Crime. She is being detained in the Potter County Detention Center.

Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.

On Wednesday at about 10:30 p.m., Adams was driving with three other people, according to an arrest report obtained by regional ABC affiliate KVII. The defendant allegedly said later that they had stolen alcohol from a Toot’n Totum convenience store.

The group was driving near the 1900 block of Port Lane in Amarillo, Texas, a city in the northern part of the state.

One passenger reportedly said that they were drinking and were drunk. Adams apparently lost control while turning the vehicle, causing them to leave the roadway and hit a light pole and a tree.

Three of the four people in the vehicle were thrown from it, including Adams, the arrest report states. A 16-year-old passenger sitting in the back died; the passenger’s identity is unclear.

The front-seat passenger suffered a broken ankle, and the other passenger in the back of the vehicle — who was not ejected — suffered a broken spine, the area TV station reported.

The Amarillo Police Department responded to the area after the crash. Authorities noted that Adams appeared “highly intoxicated” and had glassy eyes, slurred speech, and an odor of alcohol around her.

Several open containers of alcohol were apparently in the vehicle, too.

The defendant initially said someone else had been driving but left after the crash, according to authorities, but police learned Adams was actually the driver. She was then arrested and charged.

The post 18-year-old woman driving drunk crashes into light pole and tree, killing 16-year-old and breaking the spine of another passenger: Cops first appeared on Law & Crime.