Jefferson County Courthouse in Madras, seen here in 2014.  

A Bend woman charged with killing three people in a head-on collision in 2022 had two drinks the night of the crash, but blames the accident on digestive distress from a sandwich and said she made a risky highway pass because she needed to find a bathroom, according to court records.

Audrey McHugh, 30, pleaded no contest Tuesday in Jefferson County Circuit Court to charges of manslaughter and driving under the influence of intoxicants the night of the Nov. 16 crash that killed Warm Springs siblings Jesiah Johnson, 13, and Jessica Johnson, 15, and their aunt, Saralee Lorette Spino-McCormack, 27.

Her plea is part of an agreement reached recently with prosecutors, Jefferson County District Attorney Steve Leriche told The Bulletin on Tuesday.

“We have no objection to it,” Leriche said.

McHugh faces a maximum of 61 years in prison and a fine of $1.1 million, according to court records. But prosecutors have agreed to recommend a lesser sentence of 25 years in prison. McHugh’s defense attorney, Erick Ward, “is free to argue for any lawful sentence,” court records state. Her sentencing hearing is Friday.

McHugh admitted in a post-crash interview that she had two glasses of champagne before getting in her gray Toyota Tacoma about two hours before the crash and driving home on U.S. Highway 26 from Portland to Bend, according to court documents filed by Ward.

But Ward said McHugh suffers from celiac disease and that “played an unfortunate but central role in the accident.” The disease can cause stomach problems if a person eats food that uses gluten.

Before leaving Portland, McHugh bought and ate a sandwich she believed was gluten-free, Ward said. As she neared Madras, she began to experience “severe” digestive distress and “extreme” stomach cramps, dizziness and “brain fog.”

“Her body felt like it was shutting down,” Ward said in court records.

At around 7:30 p.m., McHugh was driving south on the highway through thick fog, surrounded by heavy traffic and slow moving semitrucks. McHugh “urgently needed to find a restroom and there did not appear to be a workable alternative in the icy darkness around her,” Ward said.

“She could not locate a pullout or a wide enough shoulder where she could safely pull over with a modicum of privacy,” according to court records.

McHugh’s GPS indicated a service station was nearby, Ward said. So, she attempted to pass a truck, accelerating to 82 mph near NW Dogwood Lane.

“Unfortunately, she failed to see a Chevrolet sedan traveling north in the opposite lane,” Ward said, adding that “neither driver saw the other until it was too late, resulting in a catastrophic head-on collision.”

Spino-McCormack and Jesiah Johnson died at the scene, which is just north of Madras Airport. Jessica Johnson was treated at St. Charles Bend. She was stabilized, released, but later died of “complications related to her injuries,” Ward said.

Inside McHugh’s Toyota Tacoma, police found a variety of McHugh’s belongings: sports equipment, tools and trash. They also found a six-pack of hard cider, Ward said. On the floor of her car was one of the cider cans, opened and empty.

“McHugh denies drinking while she was driving and claims that the open can was old and forgotten in the disarray of her vehicle,” Ward said.

By pleading no contest, McHugh concedes that a “reasonable jury” could convict her on three counts of first-degree manslaughter, one for each victim, according to court records. The charges accused her of acting with “extreme indifference to the value of human life” when she consumed alcohol and “recklessly” caused the fatal crash.

In the post-crash interview, McHugh also admitted to smoking marijuana to help her sleep the night before the crash, Ward said. Police found a marijuana vape pen on the floor of the car near the driver’s side door.

“McHugh asserts that she thought she had lost the vape pen and did not know it was there,” Ward said.

McHugh’s blood tests after the crash showed she had a blood alcohol concentration of .04% and a THC concentration of “between 2.8 and 3.2 ng/mL.”

Oregon’s legal blood alcohol limit is .08%. There is no set limit on THC levels.

A judge will decide McHugh’s sentence following statements in a hearing scheduled for Friday. Leriche said the state will provide its arguments in court.

“There’s not much for me to add at this point,” Leriche said.

Ward declined to comment.

McHugh’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. in the Jefferson County Circuit Court.