Drunk man was driving over 100 mph in crash that killed 2 women, unborn child: police

Zachary Paulison (Booking photo from Sarpy County Jail)

Police arrested an Omaha man Wednesday on suspicion of being drunk and causing a fiery crash last week that killed two women, including a corrections officer who was eight months pregnant.

Zachary Paulison, who turned 22 Wednesday, was booked on suspicion of two counts of vehicular homicide while intoxicated and one count of vehicular homicide of an unborn child, Omaha police said in a news release Wednesday.

Investigators believe Paulison was drunk the night of March 31 when his pickup truck collided with the sport utility vehicle driven by 37-year-old Sara Zimmerman, who was an officer with the Douglas County Department of Corrections. According to WOWT, Paulison was driving more than 100 mph and had a blood alcohol level of 1.61 - more than twice the legal limit. 

Investigators said there's no evidence that he hit the brakes before slamming his F-250 pickup truck into a Nissan Altima. 

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Police said both vehicles went into a ditch and the SUV erupted in flames. Zimmerman, who was pregnant, and her passenger, 38-year-old Amanda Schook, died in the crash. Paulison was taken to an Omaha hospital with back and chest fractures, police said.

He's being held in the Sarpy County Jail on a $1 million bond. 

NebraskaCrime and Public Safety