|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The Santa Clara woman who allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian at Rancho San Antonio last week is accused of intentionally driving onto park trails and swerving into pedestrians, according to court documents.
A statement by the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office alleges that the driver of the black Audi, identified as 50-year-old Mireya Orta, was acting “erratic” and intentionally when she hit one one of the victims and nearly struck a second victim at the park on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Orta was denied bail last week, and remains in custody at the Elmwood Complex Women’s Facility in Milpitas.
Orta allegedly hit the victim who was on a trail and “intentionally reversed and drove back and forth over the man’s body multiple times,” according to the statement by Sgt. Noe Cortez of the sheriff’s office, who describes how sheriff’s deputies responded to a disturbance call and the account of a witness who saw the Audi sedan hit a man walking on Permanente Creek Trail around 12:42 p.m.
The man who was hit, 77-year-old Sunnyvale resident Lawrence Lupash, was taken to Stanford Hospital about 40 minutes after the collision. He was pronounced dead at around 1:50 p.m.
Orta reportedly drove away from Lupash and “swerved and attempted to hit another person” who was walking on the trail. The man evaded the vehicle and was not hit, but had to dive to the ground to avoid being struck and took cover behind an oak tree, according to the report. His injuries were abrasions on his hands.
Orta allegedly continued to drive erratically through the park and eventually returned to Cristo Rey Drive, the primary road through Rancho San Antonio. Cortez describes how it appeared Orta was leaving the park, but then began heading back towards the trails.
Orta then allegedly rammed a patrol car and remained in the vehicle, according to the statement. She was taken into custody by deputies and taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center before being transferred to jail.
Orta is being charged with murder using a deadly weapon and attempted murder of the second victim. Prosecutors allege that the attempted murder charge was premeditated. If convicted, she faces 33 years to life in prison.
Rancho San Antonio is the Peninsula’s most popular open space preserve, drawing 700,000 visitors each year to its winding 24-mile network of trails.
The next court date for the case is Nov. 7.
So a little confused….it is possible to get on this trail with a car?
@UNREAL: An article in the Mercury News goes into a little more detail. It’s possible to get onto the trail with a car (presumably rangers would need to do just that from time to time), but it’s not possible to get onto the trail by, say, accidentally taking a wrong turn. You’d have to intend to go onto to the trail, which probably feeds into the murder charge as opposed to a manslaughter charge.
http://www.mercurynews.com/driver-charged-with-murder-in-rancho-san-antonio-park-rampage
Um, yeah…. It was the reversing and driving over him repeatedly that brought the murder charge, which also clearly rules out any need to ask whether she ended up on the trail by accident.