A 22-year-old woman is now facing murder charges in the death of her 2-year-old son after an Anchorage car crash two weeks ago.
According to the Alaska Department of Law, Cheyenne Jewel McMullen has been charged with two counts of second-degree murder in the death of the child, referred to as “E.B.” She also faces one count each of manslaughter and driving under the influence.
Anchorage police said they responded to the crash near Lake Otis Parkway and East 63rd Avenue at 3:21 a.m. on Aug. 31. Police described it as a single-vehicle rollover involving a blue Kia Forte sedan. Police said at the time that both McMullen and her passenger were injured, with McMullen initially held on assault charges. Police later announced the child’s death on Sept. 7.
On Wednesday, state prosecutors said the high-speed crash took place about 500 feet south of the Lake Otis and Dowling intersection.
“Investigation revealed that McMullen drove approximately 94 miles per hour through the Lake Otis and Dowling intersection and lost control of her vehicle while trying to negotiate an S curve just north of East 63rd Avenue,” according to the prosecutors’ statement. “It was also determined she was heavily intoxicated at the time of the collision.”
A charging document said officers found E.B. hanging in the flipped car by a seat belt from his car seat. The charges say McMullen had a blood-alcohol content reading of .233 about four hours after the crash, nearly three times the state’s legal limit.
The charges say the boy was taken to Providence Alaska Medical Center, where McMullen was told he was in critical condition and not breathing.
“After being advised of her son’s condition, McMullen stated several times, ‘It should have been me and I will never drink again,'” prosecutors wrote.
McMullen is being represented by the state Public Defender Agency, which wasn’t immediately available for comment Wednesday.
McMullen has been held on $25,000 bail, under house arrest with monitoring from the state’s Pretrial Enforcement Division. She is set to be arraigned Wednesday on the revised charges.
Chris Klint is a web producer and breaking news reporter at Alaska Public Media. Reach him at cklint@alaskapublic.org. Read more about Chris here.
