A woman suspected of driving drunk and causing a Carlsbad crash that killed grandparents from Northern California pleaded not guilty Thursday to multiple charges.
Angela Marie Hays, 28, faces counts that include gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
Hays, of Corona, is accused of slamming into a Jeep Grand Cherokee on southbound Interstate 5 just before 4 a.m. Saturday, causing it to overturn. A Nissan Altima then collided with the overturned Jeep, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The Jeep’s female passenger died at the scene, while its male driver was taken to a hospital, where he later died.
Officials identified the victims as Jose Geraldo Lozano and Luz Maria Duran Rios, both of Richmond, in Contra Costa County.
A GoFundMe page created by one of Lozano’s sons states the couple was traveling to Los Cabos, Mexico when the crash occurred. They leave behind six children and eight grandchildren, according to the page.
The Nissan’s driver was also hospitalized with major, but non-life-threatening injuries, according to the CHP.
Hays was arrested later that day. She faces up to 13 years and eight months in state prison if convicted of all charges.
– City News Service
