Woman Pleads Not Guilty in Fatal Distracted Driving Case

LOS ANGELES, CA -- A driver who allegedly hit and fatally injured a 65-year-old man in the Westlake district while checking her cellphone messages pleaded not guilty Feb. 15 to vehicular manslaughter.

Rosario Maximilia Valdezinda, 38, is charged in the death of Yong Do Kim of Los Angeles, who was struck about 8 p.m. 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.

According to a police statement, Valdezinda remained at the scene and attempted to render aid as required by law, but that police determined that she had been looking at her messages on her cellphone when the collision occurred.

Police subsequently booked Valdezinda on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter.

Valdezinda was released from custody the same day after posting $50,000 bail, according to jail records. She is due back in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom March 5, when a date is scheduled to be set for a hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to allow the case against her to proceed to trial.

If convicted as charged, Valdezinda could face up to six years in state prison, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office.

City News Service contributed to this report/Image via Shutterstock