A mother was chatting away on Facebook while behind the wheel moments before a horror smash that killed three children, according to a police report.
Kari Milberg was driving her daughter home alongside her niece and another child in December 2013 when she lost control of her vehicle, crashing into the path of a truck.
Milberg, 34, from Wisconsin, was thrown out of the vehicle, while her 11-year-old daughter Lydia died following impact.
Her five-year-old niece Clara Pavek was taken to hospital in the wake of the crash, but died in the ambulance while the other child in the vehicle, Laynie Jo Amos, five, died of injuries in the days following the crash.
The fourth child in the vehicle, her three-year-old son Easton, survived the crash.
Officers searched for four months to find Milberg’s mobile phone on the scene before discovering it in the snow.
An examination of her phone records showed that in the moments leading up to the crash, she was sending messages to friends using her Facebook app.
Investigators found that she sent her last message at 3.39pm, just two minutes before the smash.
According to a Wisconsin police report, “Milberg was actively sending and receiving Facebook chat messages just prior to the crash”.
Officers also found from blood tests that Milberg had a low level amount of medication in her system, however they believe that the reason for the crash wasdistracted driving.
Upon discovery of the phone records, she was charged with three counts of driving-related homicide.
Milberg will appear in court on March 16.
