The death of a young Arlington woman killed in a residential car crash is raising questions and concerns after the driver who hit her said he was using a court-ordered breathalyzer moments before the crash.
Alexis Butler, 18, died Friday of injuries she sustained in a crash one week ago.
Butler was struck on her passenger side by a pickup truck as she backed her Toyota Camry out of a driveway along the 2700 block of Redstone Drive.
During their investigation, police noticed there were no tire marks indicating the 31-year-old pickup driver tried to stop before the collision.
Police said the driver of the pickup admitted to looking down for three to four seconds to perform a breath test on his court-ordered ignition interlock device and did not see Butler’s car in time.
“Number one thing we’ll look at is tracking down the original court order to read exactly what it said,” said Lt. Chris Cook, with the Arlington Police Department. “And more importantly for us, as a police department, is to determine what the manufacturer recommendation is as far as the guidelines in how to operate this type of equipment. It’s very concerning to us, as a police department, that an individual may be operating some type of ignition equipment while they’re in a moving vehicle.”
Police said the pickup driver was not impaired at the time of the crash, but other charges are possible in this case. The police department would then forward the case to the district attorney’s office to determine whether the case should go to a grand jury.
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Butler’s family released the following statement to NBC 5:
“She was larger than life - everyone loved Lexxy - Her laugh, her smile, her bubbly personality. She touched so many people’s lives in just her short 18 years, more than most will touch in a lifetime. Her legacy will continue to live on through her final selfless act of organ and tissue donation, which she elected. She will continue to touch lives even in death. We know we’ll see Lexxy again in Heaven and she’ll be an angel watching over us.”
Arlington police said detectives are conducting a reconstruction of the crash scene and the event data recorder.
