Woman convicted of manslaughter in La Palma crash that killed 2

By Paul Anderson

A 28-year-old Harbor City pistillate was convicted Thursday, Sept. 9, of vehicular manslaughter and DUI charges for a collision successful La Palma that killed 2 radical and earnestly injured the operator of the different car.

Guadalupe Berenice Zamora was convicted of 2 felony counts of vehicular manslaughter portion intoxicated and a misdemeanor number of driving nether the power of intoxicant causing injury. Jurors besides recovered existent a sentencing enhancement for inflicting large bodily wounded connected a unfortunate who survived the crash.

Jurors rejected 2 felony counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. They began deliberating Thursday greeting and reached verdicts astatine the extremity of the day.

Zamora, who was retired of custody connected bail, was remanded to jail, but not earlier Orange County Superior Court Judge Scott Steiner wrestled with whether to fto her stay escaped until sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov. 5.

Zamora faces up to six years and 8 months successful prison, but could person faced up to 13 years and 8 months if convicted of gross negligence manslaughter.

“I’ve been reasoning a batch astir this lawsuit — a lot,” Steiner said. “I truly deliberated connected that determination (to nonstop her to jail). It’s not conscionable a drawback decision.”

Steiner added, “This is the eventual bittersweet case.”

Prior to the crash, Zamora had nary transgression grounds different than a summons for an amerciable U-turn, Steiner noted. He acknowledged that it was the “ultimate nightmare script for the victims’ household — but besides for the defendant’s family.”

The fatally injured victims, 47-year-old Rosemarie Medallo and 81-year-old Bernardina Lee, some of Lakewood, were passengers successful a car driven by Kabeio Lee Jr., who mislaid his spleen, broke his ribs and dislocated his enarthrosis successful the Feb. 4, 2017, collision.

Zamora, who was driving a 2015 Honda Civic, ran a reddish airy astatine La Palma Avenue and Walker Street astir 2:40 a.m. and crashed into Lee’s 1996 Honda Civic, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Brian Orue.

“Not lone does she tally the reddish light, she was going 43 miles per hr 5 seconds anterior to the collision,” Orue told jurors successful his opening statement. “You volition larn that she ne'er deed the brakes.”

Orue said the suspect was charged with the 3 counts “based connected everything successful totality,” including grounds from surveillance video, humor tests to cheque her blood-alcohol level and accusation from a information recorder connected her vehicle.

Zamora’ s attorney, Fred Fascenelli, maintained that his lawsuit was not impaired astatine the clip of the crash.

“Just due to the fact that you person intoxicant successful your strategy doesn’t mean you’re impaired,” Fascenelli said. “Ms. Zamora was not impaired. The serviceman who gave the suspect a tract sobriety trial did it incorrectly.”

Fascenelli added, “You’re going to person to find whether that serviceman made a mistake oregon the suspect was impaired and you’re going to larn the suspect was not impaired.”

In his closing argument, Orue told jurors that the humor trial showed that hours aft the collision, Zamora had a blood-alcohol level betwixt .07 and .08, which is the ineligible limit.

Zamora ran a “stale” reddish airy that was reddish for “40-odd seconds earlier she came barreling done that intersection,” the authoritative said.

Zamora told officers astatine the country that she doesn’t portion and doesn’t often spell retired due to the fact that she is truthful engaged with enactment and school, Orue said.

But that nighttime she said she was “pounding water” to dilute the effects of intoxicant pursuing a travel to a barroom successful Santa Ana, helium said.

After the evening astatine the bar, Zamora went to a friend’s location successful Buena Park astir 2 a.m., Orue said. She should person known amended astir the effects of drinking and driving due to the fact that her niece was the unfortunate of a drunken driver, Orue said.

“She knew the risks and she did it anyway,” helium said.

Orue conceded that the serviceman who conducted the tract sobriety trial admitted his mistakes during testimony, but argued determination was inactive different bully reasons to gully humor from the defendant, which showed she had intoxicant successful her system. A forensic idiosyncratic testified that Zamora was an impaired driver, Orue said.

“She turned that 2,500-pound conveyance into a missile,” helium said.