Speed, drugs and alcohol factors in November deadly crash in Cedar Rapids

CEDAR RAPIDS - Speed, drugs and alcohol were all factors in a November crash that resulted in the death of two Cedar Rapids residents, authorities said Wednesday.

Cedar Rapids public safety spokesman Greg Buelow said a police department accident reconstruction specialist determined Martrell D. Watson, 21, was traveling at 87 mph after he hit a barrier on Interstate 380 the morning of Nov. 26 and slammed into the back of a police SUV. Watson was going even faster than that before he hit the barrier, but police don't know Watson's exact speed before impact, Buelow said.

'We can't estimate the speed based on anything there,” he said. 'There's no skid marks or anything before him hitting the barrier there.”

An autopsy also showed Watson tested positive for cannabinoids and had a blood alcohol content of .019 percent. That amount is beneath the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle in Iowa, .08 percent.

Police said Watson was southbound on Interstate 380 around 2:48 a.m. Nov. 26. Kaitlyn M. Hall-Stougard, 22, was a passenger in Watson's 2008 Cadillac CTS.

A review of Iowa Department of Transportation video footage showed the brake lights on Watson's vehicle illuminating just before he hit the barrier. His car then crossed several lanes of traffic and hit a parked police SUV. Two officers were in the marked SUV investigating a crash near the First Avenue West exit.

Buelow said in November the two officers were injured in the collision. They were wearing seat belts, which spared them from major injuries, Buelow said. Watson and Hall-Stougard were pronounced dead at the scene.

Weather was not a factor in the crash, Buelow said.

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