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Details Emerge in "Horrific" PCH Crash, Prescription Drugs Might be Involved
Details surrounding the 10-car pileup crash that killed three people including Julia Allen, the 27-year-old driver of the Ford Taurus that hit three vehicles and then flew airborne before landing on a motorcycle, are emerging and questions remain about what may have caused the accident.
KTLA notes that speed was a factor in the crash and that Allen was traveling at 90 mph when she swerved into oncoming traffic.
LA Now has confirmed that Newport Beach police are looking into whether Allen was taking medication during the time of the crash. Allen's friends said she had a history of mental illness and had long used prescription drugs to manage her condition. Friends said "she would not be in a condition to drive if she was off the medication and suffering a psychological breakdown."
Newport Beach Lt. Bill Hartford has said the crash "was so violent that it took more than three hours to extricate the bodies." Law enforcement officials spent 9 hours collecting evidence and called the scene "horrific."
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Investigators are also looking into the possibility that a stuck accelerator may have caused the crash. Allen had an issue with a stuck accelerator in the past, which was noted (and since removed) on her mother's blog and described a situation in which she couldn't "control the speed of the car" and that the accelerator was "stuck at full speed." That blog post was undated, making it unclear just how long ago Allen experienced accelerator problems.
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