A Utah woman is facing charges after allegedly crashing her car into two cyclists and then driving away from the scene. Both cyclists later died.
The suspect, Julie Ann Budge, blamed the crash on her irritable bowel syndrome, according to Salt Lake City CBS affiliate KUTV.
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The victims, two brothers from California participating in a local bike race, were riding along a road in Washington City in the southwest of the state.
That’s when Budge told police that she “began to uncontrollably defecate” in her car, which suddenly caused her to swerve and hit the men, according to Salt Lake City Fox affiliate KSTU.
Budge told responding officers that she had “various medical issues” and that she did not see the two men. She also said she couldn’t get her car to stop after the crash until it stopped several hundred yards away from the crash site.
The two men, whose names have not been released, were transported to a local hospital where they both died from their injuries.
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A witness told police that the suspect did not seem to “have the intention of stopping after hitting the two cyclists,” KSL.com reported.
Budge reportedly failed a series of field sobriety tests and told officers she had been taking fentanyl through an IV drip since being admitted to the hospital the day before, according to KSTU.
Budge was booked into the Washington County Jail where she remains in custody. On Monday, she was charged with two counts of automobile homicide with criminal negligence, two counts of DUI, two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving death, reckless driving, and improper lane travel.
Source: huffpost
