A woman who was well over the legal limit and eight months pregnant when she caused a crash on a Bowie County highway that seriously injured another driver pleaded guilty last week to intoxication assault and received an eight-year prison sentence.
Tyler Briann Musselwhite, 26, pleaded guilty March 5 at a hearing before 102nd District Judge Jeff Addison. Assistant District Attorney Randle Smolarz handled the case for the state.
Musselwhite has been in jail since her release from a local hospital following a major accident Aug. 3, 2018.
Musselwhite was driving a Mitsubishi in the southbound inside lane of Highway 59 at about 8 p.m. when she crossed the center lane and struck a Hyundai traveling in the inside northbound lane.
The Mitsubishi and Hyundai became entangled and spun around before coming apart. The Hyundai’s driver, a 31-year-old woman, suffered a broken pelvis, broken legs, a broken arm and head injuries. First responders had to extract the Hyundai’s driver from her car.
Musselwhite, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected half way 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 reported that Musselwhite smelled of alcohol. A partially consumed bottle of vodka was found inside the Mitsubishi.
In addition to losing her unborn child, Musselwhite asuffered injuries to organs. Before undergoing surgery, a sample of Musselwhite’s blood was tested at the hospital and showed a blood alcohol level of .329, approximately four times the .08 legal limit. Musselwhite was free on bond from a DWI arrest in June 2018 at the time of the collision.
