Photo: NBC
Five members of the Hart family were found dead in the vehicle after it plunged off a California cliff last month. Three children who remain missing are believed dead. Authorities say that she was drunk at the time.
Mendocino County Sheriff Tom Allman said that preliminary results show Jennifer Hart’s blood alcohol concentration was 0.102% when her SUV drove off the cliff. The crash killed her, her wife, as well as at least three of their six adopted children.
Overturned SUV
Jennifer and Sarah Hart, both 38, were found in their overturned SUV at the bottom of the cliff near the Pacific Coast Highway on March 26. Three of their six children, Jeremiah and Abigail, both 14, and 19-year-old Markis, were also found dead in the vehicle.
Hannah, 16, Sierra, 15, and Devonte, 15, have not been found. You may remember Devonte Hart as the boy whose photo hugging a white police officer during an anti-police violence protest went viral in 2014.
Police think that all six children were in the vehicle at the time of the crash.
“An Intentional Act”
Preliminary reports show that Sarah Hart and two children had the active ingredient in Benadryl in their systems. Toxicology results for the third child whose body was found have not been released yet.
The sheriff, who has said he believes the crash was “an intentional act,” did not mention why he thought the Harts had used the over-the-counter allergy medication. “Some people use it for motion sickness and some people use it go to sleep,” Allman said.
Last weekend, a sixth body was found near the site of the crash. A couple spotted the body floating in the surf, and another bystander pulled it onto the beach.
Police have said it was possible that the body may belong to one of the two missing Hart girls. As of Friday afternoon, Allman said officials had not yet positively identified the body.
