A woman who was allegedly more than three times the legal limit for alcohol and eight months pregnant when she caused a serious crash in Bowie County in August entered a not guilty plea to a charge of intoxication assault Tuesday.
Tyler Briann Musselwhite, 25, appeared Tuesday afternoon for arraignment with Bowie County Public Defender Deborah Moore. Moore entered a not guilty plea on Musselwhite’s behalf to a charge of intoxication assault stemming from an Aug. 3 collision on Highway 59.
The crash caused Musselwhite to lose her pregnancy. Musselwhite was driving a Mitsubishi in the southbound inside lane of Highway 59 at about 8 p.m. on Aug. 3 when she crossed the center lane and struck a Hyundai traveling in the inside northbound lane.
The Mitsubishi and Hyundai reportedly became entangled and spun around before coming apart. The Hyundai’s driver, a 31-year-old woman, suffered numerous debilitating injuries. First responders had to extract the Hyundai’s driver from her car.
Musselwhite, who was allegedly not wearing a seat belt, was ejected halfway out of the car’s passenger side window after the Mitsubishi came to rest on its side. The top of the Mitsubishi’s frame was resting on Musselwhite’s torso after the crash. A witness who helped get Musselwhite out of the car allegedly reported that Musselwhite smelled of alcohol. A partially consumed bottle of vodka was allegedly found inside the Mitsubishi.
In addition to losing her unborn child, Musselwhite allegedly suffered injuries to organs. Before undergoing surgery, a sample of Musselwhite’s blood was allegedly tested at the hospital and showed a blood alcohol level of .329, approximately four times the .08 legal limit.
Assistant District Attorney Kelley Crisp said there is currently no plea offer from the state being made in Musselwhite’s case. Lockhart scheduled Musselwhite to return to court for a pretrial hearing in January. Musselwhite faces two to 10 years in prison if convicted. She is currently being held in the Bowie County jail.
