Woman Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter in Crash that Killed La Mesa Girl

A Chula Vista woman who crashed a minivan into Otay Reservoir while drunk, killing her 5-year-old daughter and another 5-year-old La Mesa child, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI.

Arlene Anna Hernandez, 22, faces between six and 12 years in prison when she is sentenced May 31 at the South Bay Courthouse.

The other child killed, Guiliana Figueroa, who resided in La Mesa, was also 5 years old. Figueroa's father Eric was riding in the passenger seat at the time of the crash.

Beside the DUI counts and two counts of manslaughter, Hernandez also admitted to allegations that her actions caused great bodily injury to the victims.

Authorities said Hernandez lost control of her 2005 Kia Sedona on eastbound Otay Lakes Road shortly after 6 p.m. on Aug. 5. The vehicle tumbled down an embankment near Wueste Road, overturned, landed on its roof in the water and sank, California Highway Patrol Officer Omar Morales said.

Hernandez and Eric Figueroa got out, but Guiliana and the defendant's daughter, Lesette Silva, were not pulled out of the vehicle until several area residents and Border Patrol agents arrived.

The children were airlifted to Rady Children's Hospital, where they were declared dead.

CHP Officer Brad Clinkscales testified at a preliminary hearing in November that Figueroa told him he met Hernandez a few months earlier and their daughters played together.

On the day of the accident, Hernandez and Figueroa arranged a "play date" with their girls and met at a Ralphs grocery store, Clinkscales said.

Figueroa bought a six-pack of beer, and Hernandez drove the four to a park, where they had about three beers each and, for several hours, watched their girls play in an area where water shoots out of the ground, the officer said Figueroa told him.

Hernandez saw some skydivers and said she wanted to give her daughter an up-close look, so they got in the car and drove toward the area, Clinkscales said Figueroa told him.

Figueroa said he was blindfolded during the drive because Hernandez had a "surprise." He said he didn't know anything was wrong until he heard yelling and minivan careened out of control.

Once in the water, Figueroa and Hernandez freed themselves from the sinking car and said they tried to go back for their girls, but were unable to do so and began shouting for help, Clinkscales testified.

The officer who arrested Hernandez smelled alcohol on her breath. An odor of alcohol was also coming from Figueroa when he was interviewed at the scene, Clinkscales said.

Hernandez's blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.13 percent after the crash, the officer said.

At CHP headquarters, Clinkscales said Hernandez told him that she had purchased a 12-pack of beer earlier in the day and put it in a cooler in the van, along with snacks for the children.

Regarding the accident, Hernandez said she was driving with one hand when she spotted a rock in the road and swerved to avoid it, sending the van off the road.

Clinkscales said he found no tire marks or gouges in the road to indicate Hernandez swerved to miss a rock or hit a rock.

Hernandez also was charged in a November 2011 hit-and-run accident in which two people were injured. Those charges were dismissed as part of the plea agreement, Deputy District Attorney Mary Loeb said.

–City News Service