OMAHA, Neb. (WOW/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 say she was driving drunk near 230 km/h 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 Douglas County Jail Wednesday after being hospitalized for weeks in Kansas with severe burns. An arrest warrant was issued for her while she was in hospital.

State authorities requested that Bickerstaff’s bail be set at $5 million; the judge granted the request and set his preliminary hearing for December 9.

More details about the accident were shared in court Friday. It happened shortly before 1:30 a.m. on September 27.

Authorities said Bickerstaff’s 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee ran a red light on 10th Street. She was traveling nearly 140 miles per hour on Douglas Street just five seconds before the crash and more than 100 miles per hour at the time of impact.

According to court documents, Bickerstaff’s blood alcohol level was 0.216, almost three times the legal limitat the hospital.

Bickerstaff managed to get out of the vehicle, as records should.

At great risk to themselves, the “good Samaritans” managed to remove his passenger, a 38-year-old man who is also the father of Bickerstaff’s three daughters who died following the accident, from the Jeep while ‘She was burning, records show.

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

“The passengers tried to come back and get his children who were stuck in the car. Excuse me, the good Samaritans did it, but the vehicle was too fully engulfed in flames at that point. She’s going 139 miles per hour on Douglas, which is completely outrageous. She was traveling at more than 100 mph at the time of impact; she appears to be intoxicated when being treated by doctors,” the public prosecutor said.

Records also show that Michael Sales, 70 years oldof Council Bluffs, was the other driver involved in the crash. He was trapped in his 2017 Subaru Outback and died in the fiery wreck. He was on his way home from his job at FedEx when the accident occurred.

According to court documents, Bickerstaff’s 18-month-old child, who was ejected during the crash and taken to a burn unit in Kansas City for injuries sustained in the crash, ultimately died a few days later.

Court documents filed earlier this month say emergency room personnel who treated the child said the injuries “could only be described as ‘haunting.’

Bickerstaff is charged with four counts of vehicular homicide and one count of driving while intoxicated and causing serious bodily injury. If convicted of homicide, she could face up to 50 years in prison on each count. She could also be sentenced to three years in prison and fined $10,000 if convicted of drunk driving.

Court records also show that Bickerstaff had a prior drunk driving conviction in early 2020. She pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor counts of drunk driving and reckless driving, losing her license for 60 days and requiring a locking device. She was also placed on probation for six months and had to pay fines totaling less than $800.

WOWT previously reported that Bickerstaff had four other children, likely ages 8 to 11, who were taken into state custody several years ago. According to juvenile court records, the passenger injured in the crash is also the father of one of them.

Documents show the state was concerned about the children’s safety and well-being, alleging Bickerstaff failed his drug tests; she had a history of methamphetamine use, according to the documents. She also wasn’t following a medical plan for any of her children.

Finally, in 2019, the parents waived their rights and these children were put up for adoption.

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