According to officials, a woman was driving drunk at nearly 140 miles per hour before a crash that killed her three children

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT/Gray News) – More than a month after a fatal crash, a woman has been formally charged in the deaths of four people, including her own children, after authorities said she was driving nearly 140 mph drunk hour had been driven at the time of the accident.

Rachel Bickerstaff, a 33-year-old woman from Omaha, Nebraska, cried in her wheelchair during her court appearance Thursday.

Bickerstaff was booked into the Douglas County Jail on Wednesday after spending weeks hospitalized in Kansas with severe burns. While she was in the hospital, an arrest warrant was issued for her.

State authorities requested that Bickerstaff's bail be set at $5 million; The judge agreed to the request and scheduled her preliminary hearing for December 9th.

Further details about the crash were revealed in court on Friday. It happened just before 1:30 a.m. on September 27th.

Authorities said Bickerstaff's 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee ran a red light on 10th Street. She was traveling nearly 140 mph on Douglas Street just five seconds before the crash and more than 100 mph upon impact.

According to court documents, Bickerstaff's blood alcohol content was tested at the hospital at .216, nearly three times the legal limit.

According to records, Bickerstaff was able to free himself from the vehicle.

At great risk, the Good Samaritans managed to pull their passenger, a 38-year-old man who is also the father of Bickerstaff's three girls who died in the accident, from the burning Jeep. Records show.

The 38-year-old survived the accident, but the vehicle was too engulfed in flames to save the 11-day-old and 5-year-old trapped in her vehicle.

“The passengers tried to get their children who were locked in the car. Sorry, the Good Samaritans did that, but the vehicle was too engulfed in flames at the time. She's going 139 miles per hour on Douglas, which is completely outrageous. It reaches speeds of over 100 miles per hour upon impact; “She appears to be drunk when treated by doctors,” the prosecutor said.

Records also show 70-year-old Michael Sales of Council Bluffs was the other driver involved in the crash. He was trapped in his 2017 Subaru Outback and died in the fiery wreckage. He was on his way home from work at FedEx at the time of the accident.

According to court documents, Bickerstaff's 18-month-old child, who was thrown from the water during the accident and taken to a burn unit in Kansas City for injuries sustained in the accident, eventually died days later.

Court documents filed earlier this month say emergency room staff who treated the child said the injuries “could only be described as 'violent.'

Bickerstaff is charged with four counts of motor vehicle homicide and one count of driving under the influence and aggravated assault. If convicted of murder, she faces up to 50 years in prison on each count. She also faces up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted of drunk driving.

Court records also show that Bickerstaff was previously convicted of driving under the influence in early 2020. She pleaded no contest to driving under the influence and reckless driving, lost her license for 60 days and required a safety device. She was also on probation for six months and ordered to pay fines totaling less than $800.

WOWT previously reported that Bickerstaff has four other children, currently believed to be between 8 and 11 years old, who were taken into state care several years ago. According to juvenile court records, the passenger injured in the accident is also the father of one of them.

Documents show that the state had concerns about the children's safety and welfare and alleged that Bickerstaff missed their drug tests; The documents state that she has used methamphetamine in the past. She also did not follow a medical plan for any of her children.

In 2019, the parents finally waived their rights and the children were put up for adoption.

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