‘Hearts are broken’ as woman charged in death of 5-year-old
A woman who said she vaped with a cannabinoid oil, drank a beer and was still feeling the effects of a sleep aid and muscle relaxant is accused of plowing into two families with her SUV in Revere Sunday, killing a 5-year-old girl and critically injuring the tot’s baby sister, prosecutors said.
Autumn L. Harris, 42, of Chelsea, wept at her arraignment Monday as Chelsea District Court Judge Matthew J. Machera ordered the Pipefitters Local 537 member held on $10,000 cash bail.
“A lot of hearts are broken, especially hers,” the woman’s mother, Maureen Harris, 71, said outside the courthouse. “I feel so bad for those children. I pray there’s a solution to what happened because she loves kids.”
Her daughter pleaded not guilty to charges of motor vehicle homicide by negligent operation and negligent operation of a motor vehicle — a 2015 Chevrolet Equinox her mother said she only recently purchased so she wouldn’t have to take a train to work in Allston.
Five-year-old Adrianna Mejia-Rivera was pronounced dead at the scene. Her infant sister was also hit and is listed in critical condition in intensive care, prosecutors said.