Woman Accused of Killing 3 Cops with Her Car May Have Been Experiencing ‘Brain Fog’ from a ‘High-Fat’ McDonald’s Meal, Police Say

Corrinne Blue, 31, did not have drugs or alcohol in her system at the time of the fatal crash

NEED TO KNOW

• A Florida nurse has been charged with the deaths of three Palm Beach police officers
• Corrinne Blue, 31, had just worked more than 13 hours when she stopped to get McDonald’s on her way home
• While en route to her house, she allegedly struck and killed three officers who were parked on their motorcycles on the side of the roadway

A nurse who was arrested in connection with a crash that killed three Florida police officers may have been suffering from “brain fog” after eating McDonald's following a 12-hour shift, according to a warrant affidavit.

On April 30, Corrinne Blue, 31, was arrested and charged with three counts of vehicular homicide for a November 2024 incident, the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office said in a press release.

Corporal Luis Paez Jr., Deputy Ignacio “Dan” Diaz and Deputy Ralph “Butch” Waller were killed in the collision.

It was approximately 9:15 a.m. on Nov. 21, 2024, when Blue allegedly drove her 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee into the three on-duty officers, who were parked along State Road 80 with their motorcycles as they waited for roadside assistance because one of their vehicles stopped working.

A warrant affidavit obtained by PEOPLE alleged that the nurse, who normally worked in the telemetry unit at the Cleveland Clinic in Weston, worked in the emergency room for the first time before the crash.

“Corrinne Blue's cell phone data revealed that for the dates of 11/20/24 through 11/21/24, Corrinne Blue was awake for approximately 18 of the 24 hours preceding this crash,” the document said.

After her 12-hour shift and staying for about another hour to complete paperwork, Blue used her cell phone's GPS to find the quickest route home. This route was one she was unfamiliar with, and that she stopped at a McDonald's on the way to her house, according to the document.

“This restaurant is located approximately 25 miles from the crash scene and the time of her food purchase was approximately 25 to 26 minutes prior to the crash,” per the document. “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.”

“It was possible that Corrinne Blue was in a state of postprandial fatigue at the time of this crash,” the warrant affidavit later added.

“Dr. Boehme stated that postprandial symptomatology includes a cognitive impairment described as ‘brain fog,' " the document continued, citing Dr. Richard Boehme of 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.”

PEOPLE reached out to McDonald's for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.

Blue voluntarily provided the Palm Beach County Fire Rescue with a blood sample for toxicology analysis, which revealed there were no drugs or alcohol in her system.

A witness told police that Blue appeared to be “extremely tired.”

However, Blue told officers she was not tired or rushed on her way home, and had been relying on her GPS when she attempted to pass a slow vehicle in front of her and ultimately struck three officers while doing so.

“There was no evidence discovered in the internal phone data of distracting activity at the time of this crash,” per the warrant affidavit.

State Attorney Alexcia Cox said Paez, Diaz, and Waller had their lives “tragically taken by a reckless driver,” in the April 30 press release.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

“Regardless of the ultimate outcome, we remember Corporal Luis Paez, Deputy Sheriff Ralph 'Butch' Waller, and Deputy Sheriff Ignacio 'Dan' Diaz as heroes of our community. We recognize the pain and loss their families, the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office, and the community at large have experienced," Dave Kerner, Executive Director of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, said.

Blue made her first appearance before a judge on Friday, May 1, NBC Miami reported. Her bond was set at $750,000.

Read the full article here