Lab results indicate a 19-year-old Columbia woman tested positive for cocaine the night she crashed her vehicle in September, resulting in the deaths of two passengers.
Lab results from the St. Louis University Toxicology Lab show Desmeisha Thomas had a blood-alcohol content of .076 percent and tested positive for cocaine, according to a Columbia police news release. Thomas was arrested yesterday on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and involuntary manslaughter. She remains in the Boone County Jail with bond to be set.
For those younger than 21, a blood alcohol content limit of .02 percent applies as the standard for driving while intoxicated.
Investigators remain unsure of exactly what happened in the moments before the Sept. 3 crash in the 2500 block of Blue Ridge Road. Thomas was driving a 2000 Nissan Pathfinder eastbound on Blue Ridge near Oakland Gravel Road when she began to lose control, police said. Her vehicle hit a curb and overturned. The crash resulted in the deaths of passengers Lateshia Jordan and David McBride.
Thomas showed signs of intoxication at the accident scene, police said.
One lingering question involves the role of James R. Miller, 18, of 610 Spencer Ave. Police say they believe a shooting involving another unidentified vehicle happened before the crash. Miller was a front-seat passenger in the vehicle that crashed and might have fired shots at the other vehicle, police said.
Miller was arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder but was released as detectives decided to pursue more follow-up investigation. Charges have not been filed. That investigation is ongoing, police spokeswoman Latisha Stroer said.
A second-degree murder charge in this case would reflect participation in a felony act that led to a situation in which someone died.