BATON ROUGE — A 20-year-old woman accused of fatally striking an LSU student and her fiancé with her car along Nicholson Drive over the weekend had a blood alcohol level above the legal limit for people under 21, arrest documents show. 

According to Baton Rouge Police, Mia Dawson had a BAC of .048%, above the under-21 legal limit of .02%, following the fatal Sunday morning crash. 

The crash happened around 2:40 a.m. along Nicholson Drive near Lee Drive. Dawson allegedly veered off the road, striking Shane Hirstius and Leah Fonte, both 21, who were walking on the right shoulder of the roadway. Hirstius was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, while Fonte was pronounced dead on the scene. Hirstius later died at the hospital.

BRPD added that Dawson drove away after the crash and later parked it at a Circle K on Brightside Drive, but she did notify police of her car being involved in the crash. 

When asked if she had been drinking, Dawson told police she had not. After performing multiple field sobriety tests on Dawson, police gave her a breathalyser test. Dawson then blew 0.048%. 

Dawson was booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on first-offense DWI, reckless operation of a vehicle, hit-and-run and vehicular homicide.

Dawson's first appearance at the 19th JDC is at 1 p.m. on Monday. 

Fonte and Hirstius, both from Metairie, got engaged in 2025 and were set to be married in March 2028.

Hirstius was an operator and firefighter with the Third District Volunteer Fire Department.