Suspected Drunk Driver Crashes Into Bar, Killing Employee

A suspected drunk driver crashed into a Burbank bar moments after walking out of it Thursday morning, killing a 41-year-old bookkeeper who worked there, police said.

The victim was identified as Colleen Harris, who had worked at Crazy Jack’s Bar in the 4300 block of Magnolia Boulevard for five years, police said. Betty Lee Blaylock, 74, of Burbank, was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving and vehicular manslaughter. She was booked and later freed on $100,000 bail, police said.

The accident occurred shortly after 10 a.m., police said. After leaving the bar, Blaylock got into her car, backed out of a parking space and hit a telephone near a rear alley, said Det. Paul Orlowski of the Burbank Police Department.

The car then sped forward and struck a trailer in which Harris and another employee were working. The force of the crash pushed the structure about six feet, into the bar, where a movie was being filmed, said bartender Stephanie Willmes. Harris, seriously injured, was rushed to Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, where she died.

The other employee was treated for minor injuries at the scene, Orlowski said.

Harris is survived by two daughters, ages 9 and 15.