A nurse who was arrested and accused of killing three police officers who were run over in Florida (USA) allegedly suffered from “brain fog” after eating a high-calorie McDonald’s meal following a 12-hour shift.
The information was shared by People magazine, citing a warrant affidavit and a press release issued by the Palm Beach County State Attorney’s Office.
According to the report, nurse Corrinne Blue, 31, killed Corporal Luis Paez Jr. and officers Ignacio “Dan” Diaz and Ralph “Butch” Waller in a vehicle crash that occurred on the morning of November 21, 2024.
Blue, who was driving her 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee on State Road 80, struck the officers, who were stopped with their motorcycles on the shoulder waiting for assistance because one of their vehicles had stopped working.
The warrant affidavit obtained by People reveals that the nurse, who normally worked in the telemetry unit at Cleveland Clinic in Weston, worked in the emergency room for the first time before the crash.
“Corrinne Blue’s cellphone data revealed that, for the dates of 11/20/24 to 11/21/24, Corrinne Blue was awake for approximately 18 of the 24 hours prior to this crash,” the document says.
After her 12-hour shift, she remained at the clinic for about another hour to complete paperwork. After leaving, Blue used her cellphone GPS to find the fastest way home, a route with which she was not familiar.
The document also revealed that she stopped at a McDonald’s on her way home. “This restaurant is located approximately 25 miles from the crash scene and the time of purchase of her food was approximately 25 to 26 minutes before the crash,” the document also says.
“The opinion of a human factors expert, which is detailed later in this affidavit, indicated that it is possible that the calorie-dense, high-fat and high-carbohydrate content of the food purchased by Ms. Blue induced a state of postprandial fatigue, characterized by cognitive impairment or ‘brain fog,’ as Ms. Blue approached the crash scene.”
The affidavit then cited an analysis by Dr. Richard Boehme, a neurologist at Neurology Associates of North Florida. “Dr. Boehme determined that possible work-related fatigue and a possible postprandial state may have contributed to Corrinne Blue’s driving actions in the crash.”
Blue voluntarily provided Palm Beach County Fire Rescue with a blood sample for toxicology testing, which revealed that there were no drugs or alcohol in her system. A witness told police that Blue appeared to be “extremely tired.”
However, Blue told officers that she was not tired or in a hurry on her way home, and that she was relying on her GPS when she tried to pass a slow-moving vehicle in front of her and ended up striking the three officers while doing so.
Blue made her first appearance before a judge last Friday, May 1, according to a report by NBC Miami. Her bond was set at $750,000.
Photo: Unsplash. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
