A Fontana woman who had been previously warned against driving under the influence of alcohol pleaded no contest Tuesday to second-degree murder charges for a wrong-way crash that killed six people, including her own sister, on the Pomona (60) Freeway in Diamond Bar four years ago.
Olivia Carolee Culbreath, 25, entered her plea to the six counts several hours after jury selection was to begin in her trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom.
She faces a maximum of 30 years to life in state prison, with sentencing set for Sept. 7, according to Deputy District Attorney Casey Higgins.
Culbreath drove northbound in the southbound lanes of the Orange (57) Freeway and then eastbound in the westbound lanes of the 60 Freeway, where her 2013 Chevrolet Camaro collided head-on with a Ford Explorer in the early morning hours of Feb. 9, 2014.
Three generations of family members in the Explorer were killed: Huntington Park residents Gregorio Mejia-Martinez, 47; Leticia Ibarra, 42; their daughter, Jessica Mejia, 20; and her grandmother, Ester Delgado, 80.
Culbreath’s 24-year-old sister, Maya, and one of Culbreath’s friends, Kristin Young, 21, of Chino, also died in the crash, which left Culbreath injured.
Culbreath had a blood-alcohol content of 0.15 percent — nearly twice the legal limit — three hours after the deadly crash, according to evidence presented during a hearing in which she was ordered to stand trial.
She had previously convicted of driving under the influence on April 13, 2010, according to Department of Motor Vehicles records. She was stopped for two more violations before her license was reinstated in December 2011, according to the DMV, which lifted restrictions on her license just a week prior to the deadly crash.
Culbreath had been warned by the court about the dangers of driving under the influence of alcohol and had been admonished that any such future conduct could result in her being charged with murder, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
After the crash, she was initially hospitalized in a jail ward and then brought later to court on a stretcher. She has subsequently been brought to court in a wheelchair.