Former Texas Cheerleader Killed When Driver Crashed Into Her Car While Using Breathalyzer: Cops
Authorities say they are investigating after a man crashed into a Texas teenager’s car earlier this month — ultimately killing her — while he was using a court-ordered breathalyzing device, PEOPLE confirms.
“There have been no arrests at this time,” Lt. Chris Cook of the Arlington, Texas, Police Department tells PEOPLE. “We still have [an] investigation that needs to be done on the speed involved.”
Alexis Butler, 18, of Arlington, died on Friday from injuries she suffered in the Nov. 10 collision, Arlington police said in a statement.
According to authorities, Butler was backing out of a friend’s driveway in a Toyota Camry about 6:20 p.m. that Friday when a 31-year-old unidentified man driving a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck struck the passenger side of her car.
The impact pushed the teen’s Camry off the road and into a grassy area nearby.
She was rushed to the Medical Center of Arlington Hospital but never regained consciousness, reports local TV station KDFW.
“They really didn’t think she would last that night and she was just a miracle,” her mother, Barbara Barr, told the station. “I have to have faith that there’s a purpose, there’s a reason and there’s a plan for all this.”
Detectives are reconstructing the crash scene to determine what happened, including looking at the vehicles’ event data recorders, police said.
During their investigation, authorities noticed that there were no tire marks indicating the driver tried to stop before the collision, according to local station KXAS.
The driver of the pickup truck was not impaired at the time of the crash, police said.
They said he told investigators that before the wreck, he briefly looked down from the road while performing a retest of an ignition interlock device attached to the truck. That’s when he struck Butler’s vehicle.
Courts will often order those convicted of driving while intoxicated to install ignition interlock devices in their cars. Like a breathalyzer, the device requires drivers to blow into a mouthpiece to measure the level of alcohol in their systems. If the level is over the legal limit, the vehicle will not start.
It is unclear why the driver, who was not impaired, was using the device. Authorities are trying to find out if the court had directed the driver to use the breathalyzer while the truck was in motion.
“No. 1 thing we’ll look at is tracking down the original court order to read exactly what it said,” Cook said, according to KXAS.
“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,” he continued. “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.”
Depending on the outcome of the investigation, the driver could face charges, police reportedly said.
Arlington police will be consulting with the Tarrant County, Texas, Criminal District Attorney’s Office next week, Cook tells PEOPLE.
Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Butler went to Lakeview High School in Battle Creek, Michigan, before moving to Texas in 2015, her obituary says.
Earlier this year, she graduated from Arlington Martin High School. She is survived by her parents and three siblings.
While in Michigan, she was an active member of the Lakeview dance team and she was a member of several competitive cheer teams, including Spirit of Texas.
At the time of the wreck, Butler was attending the Paul Mitchell School in Arlington to pursue a career in cosmetology. She was also a member of the Church on Rush Creek in Arlington.
In a statement to KXAS, her family said: “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, her family said, will continue to touch lives “even in death” because of her “final selfless act of organ and tissue donation, which she elected.”
A funeral for Butler will be held Tuesday in Texas. Friends are reportedly holding a vigil for her Monday in Michigan.
