Woman Pleads No Contest in Distracted Driving Case That Resulted in Fatality
Woman Pleads No Contest in Distracted Driving Case That Resulted in Fatality
by Contributing Editor
A motorist who struck and fatally injured a 65-year-old man in the Westlake district while checking her cellphone messages pleaded no contest Monday to vehicular manslaughter.
A Feb. 19 sentencing date is set for Rosario Maximilia Valdezinda, 39, who entered her plea the day before her trial was tentatively set to start. The terms of the plea agreement were not immediately available, but she had been facing up to six years in state prison if convicted of the felony count.
The defendant’s car struck Yong Do Kim of Los Angeles about 8 p.m. last Jan. 23 near the area of Sixth and Grand View streets. Kim was running across Sixth Street in a marked crosswalk when he was hit by Valdezinda’s eastbound vehicle, Los Angeles police said.
“It was determined that Valdezinda was looking at her messages on her cellphone when the collision occurred,” according to an LAPD statement that said the motorist remained at the scene and attempted to render aid as required by law.
She was released from custody the same day after posting $50,000 bail.
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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
