A 16-year-old Bellingham girl is on trial for vehicular manslaughter after allegedly causing a car accident that killed a toddler and injured the child’s mother. As the teen, Carli Alvarado, testified in court this week, she stressed that she was going the speed limit at the time of the accident and that she glanced away from the road for just a few seconds right before the crash.
The Whatcom County car accident occurred in September of last year when Alvarado and two friends were leaving the school parking lot – the girls were planning on picking up some food and equipment before a volleyball game later in the evening. According to Alvarado, turned away from the road for just a moment to unzip a pocket on her backpack, which was sitting on the lap of her friend in the passenger seat. When she looked up, she did not have time to brake and hit the car in front of her, which had stopped for two pedestrians. She struck the car in front of her, which in turn struck two-year-old Anna Brulotte and injured the girl’s mother, Melissa Brulotte.
While on the stand, Alvarado answered several questions regarding her speed in the 20 mile per hour school zone. Different investigators into the crash have estimated her speed between 32 miles per hour and 24 miles per hour. Alvarado said that she had been traveling the speed limit.