A San Diego woman told an Orange County Superior Court judge on Friday she was willing to accept a plea deal from him for a deadly distracted driving crash on the San Diego (405) Freeway in Westminster almost four years ago.
Last April, jurors deadlocked in Jorene Ypanto Nicolas’ first trial on a vehicular manslaughter charge. She’s due back in court Wednesday, when she is expected to enter her plea and be sentenced to a year in jail, ordered to do 500 hours of community service and be placed on five years of formal probation.
If Nicolas violates the terms of her probation, Orange County Superior Court Judge Steven Bromberg could sentence her to four years in prison, he told the defendant.
Before Bromberg offered the plea deal he insisted on making sure it was OK with the mother of the victim, 23-year-old Deanna Mauer.
Dawn Mauer told Bromberg she did not wish to go through another trial and wanted only that Nicolas serve some time behind bars and “take responsibility” for what happened.
In last year’s trial, Nicolas testified the crash was the victim’s fault.
“I’ve always wanted to clear my daughter’s name,” Dawn Mauer told Bromberg. “I’m not so concerned about years of time (in custody) for the defendant, but her taking responsibility for what occurred and not to blame someone else.”
The defendant, through her attorney, Daniel Kim, indicated she was willing to do that.
“Ms. Nicolas doesn’t want another trial and is willing to accept responsibility,” Kim told the judge.
Dawn Mauer choked up as she told the judge she did not wish to have the defendant have to spend “years away from her family,” but that she must spend some time in custody so, “she can remember what she’s done and to think about it. All I know is I’m never going to get my little girl back, but I just want some justice for her.”
Nicolas cried softly as Dawn Mauer spoke.
Two of the jurors from last year’s trial attended today’s hearing to support the victim’s mother.
If the 32-year-old Nicolas accepts the deal, she will have to do at least half of the year in Orange County Jail, Bromberg said.
Last year’s panel deadlocked 11-1 for guilt on a charge of gross negligent vehicular manslaughter. After the mistrial was declared, Nicolas reiterated her claim that Deanna Mauer caused the crash.
“She veered into my lane, so I avoided her and I hit the center divide,” Nicolas told reporters after the mistrial was declared. “I tried to avoid her and her car spun out and hit the center divider.”
Nicolas’ prior attorney, Eric Lampel, claimed Bromberg would not let jurors hear a claim that the victim was texting and talking on her phone about the time of the crash on April 27, 2011.
Orange County District Attorney’s Office investigator Wes Vandiver testified last year that according to data from an event data recorder — commonly known as a black box — on the defendant’s car, Nicolas was going at least 84.7 mph before her Toyota Prius slammed into the victim’s Hyundai sedan in gridlocked traffic just before 11 a.m. on the San Diego (405) Freeway.
A witness testified the defendant was on her phone after the collision.
— City News Service