A Sunset Hills police officer's blood alcohol level was twice Missouri's legal limit hours after the crash she is accused of causing that killed four people, say prosecutors. Chrissy Miller is now charged with four counts of manslaughter and one count of assault. She is under house arrest.
"Obviously there was a problem here with an individual who went way beyond the limit and had incredibly tragic results," says St. Louis County Prosecutor Bob McCulloch. "She'd been drinking with friends at an establishment for several hours before the accident. At the hospital it was determined her blood alcohol was substantially above the recognized limit in the state of Missouri. It was a .16 about three hours later and a .15 about four hours after the accident."
Miller was allegedly going the wrong direction on Dougherty Ferry at 1:45 AM March 21. She crashed into a car carrying five people of Indian descent. Four of them: Anusha Anumolu, 23, of Charleston, IL; Satya Chinta, 25, of Aurora, IL; Anitha Lakshmi, 23, of Charleston, IL.; and Prya Muppvarapu, 22, of Charleston, IL died instantly. The driver Nitesh Adusumilli, 27, had serious injuries but survived.
Miller was arrested at home Tuesday morning, and booked in the St. Louis County jail, but she was released into her family's custody. McCulloch says Miller's head injuries are so severe, she needs to be kept on house arrest with an ankle monitor. She will only be allowed to leave for doctors' appointments. Miller can walk, but was in a wheelchair as she left the jail.
St. Louis's Indian community still mourns, but Telugu Association President Suren Pathuri says there is no anger, "It's a step in the right direction, hopefully justice will prevail," he says. "Our sympathy goes out to the Christine Miller family. It's hard for her and we hope God will give her strength to face this. Hopefully she'll be stronger."
Pathuri says some in the Indian community were worried the charges were taking too long. McCulloch says it was simply because there were no eye witnesses and reconstruction took a while. He says this case isn't treated any differently because a law enforcement officer is involved.
"You certainly might expect more from a police officer, but from a legal standpoint they're not held to a higher or lower standard. They are held to the same standard as everybody else," says McCulloch.
St. Louis County Prosecutor Robert McCulloch explained, "Her arrest was made by Missouri State Trooper Ryan Burckhardt this morning, at her home. She was taken to St. John's Hospital where she was examined and she was listed as fit for confinement, understanding she's still receiving medical attention. That's why we arranged to have her under house arrest with an ankle bracelet on."
Miller is suspended without pay from the Sunset Hills Police Department effective Tuesday.
"Hours after the crash it was determined her blood alcohol was substantially above the recognized limit in the state of Missouri. It was a .16 at about three hours later and a .15 about four hours after the accident, " stated McCulloch.
Her bond is set at $200,000 and the case will be presented to the grand jury in four to six weeks.
Miller is a 12-year veteran of the police department.
After the accident, Miller had surgery and was in critical condition at St. John's.
At the time of the accident, Nothum would not say why authorities suspected Miller had been drinking. Sunset Hills Police Chief William LaGrand added at the time that drinking and driving would be out of character for Miller, a single mother with one son.
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