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Woman was driving nearly 140 mph before crash that killed her 3 children, officials say

Woman was driving nearly 140 mph before crash that killed her 3 children, officials say

OMAHA, Neb. (WOW/Gray News ) – More than a month after a fatal crash, a woman has been formally charged with the deaths of four people, including her own children, after authorities say she was driving drunk at nearly 220 miles per hour when she wreckage .

Rachel Bickerstaff, a 33-year-old woman from Omaha, Nebraska, cried in her wheelchair during her court appearance Thursday.

Bickerstaff was booked into the Douglas County Jail Wednesday after being hospitalized for weeks in Kansas with severe burns. A warrant was issued for her while she was in the hospital.

State officials asked that Bickerstaff’s bond be set at $5 million; the judge agreed to the request and scheduled his preliminary hearing for Dec. 9.

Rachel Bickerstaff was jailed on Wednesday after being hospitalized for weeks with...
Rachel Bickerstaff was jailed on Wednesday after being hospitalized for weeks with severe burns.

More details about the accident were shared in court on Friday. It happened shortly before 1:30 am on September 27th.

Authorities said Bickerstaff’s 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee went over on 10th Street. She was driving nearly 140 miles per hour on Douglas Street just five seconds before the crash and over 100 miles per hour on impact.

According to court documents, Bickerstaff’s blood alcohol content tested at .216, nearly three times that. the legal limitat the hospital.

Bickerstaff was able to get out of the vehicle, records should.

At great risk to themselves, the “good Samaritans” managed to extricate their passenger, a 38-year-old man who is also the father of Bickerstaff’s three daughters who died in the crash, from the burning Jeep, records show.

The 38-year-old survived the crash, but the vehicle was too engulfed in flames to save the 11-day-old and 5-year-old who were trapped inside her vehicle.

“The passengers tried to get back for her children who were stuck in the car. Excuse me, the good Samaritans did, but the vehicle was too engulfed in flames at the time. It goes 139 miles per hour on Douglas, which is completely outrageous. It goes over 100 mph on impact; she appears to be intoxicated when treated by medics,” said the state prosecutor.

The records show that too Michael Sales, 70 years oldof Council Bluffs, was the other driver involved in the crash. He was trapped in the 2017 Subaru Outback and died in the fiery wreck. He was on his way home from work at FedEx at the time of the accident.

According to court documents, Bickerstaff’s 18-month-old child, who was ejected during the crash and taken to a Kansas City burn unit for injuries sustained in the crash, eventually he died a few days later.

Court documents filed earlier this month said emergency room staff who treated the child said the injuries “could only be described as ‘haunting.’

Bickerstaff is charged with four counts of vehicular manslaughter and one count of driving while intoxicated causing grievous bodily harm. If convicted of the manslaughter charges, she could face up to 50 years in prison on each count. She could face up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted of DUI.

Court records also show Bickerstaff had a previous DUI conviction in early 2020. She pleaded no contest to misdemeanor DUI and reckless driving, losing her license for 60 days and requiring an interlock device. She was also placed on probation for six months and ordered to pay fines totaling less than $800.

WOWT previously reported that Bickerstaff has four other children, believed to be now between the ages of 8 and 11, who were placed in state custody several years ago. According to juvenile court records, the passenger injured in the crash is also the father of one of them.

The documents show the state had concerns for the children’s safety and well-being, alleging Bickerstaff failed her drug tests; she had a history of methamphetamine use, documents state. She was also not following a medical plan for one of her children.

Finally, in 2019, the parents gave up their rights and those children were put up for adoption.