Dunaway Hearing Postponed Till Friday

A Sonoma State University student again delayed entering a plea today to killing a 2-year-old girl in a Rohnert Park crosswalk while allegedly sending a text message on her phone in December.

Kaitlyn Dunaway, 18, was charged May 16 with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

She allegedly caused the death of Calli Murray by texting while driving, driving at an unsafe speed for the conditions and failing to yield the right-of-way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk, Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch said when the charge was filed.

Ravitch said a misdemeanor charge was filed because the alleged driving offenses do not amount to felonies.

Deputy District Attorney Craig Brooks told Sonoma County Superior
Court Judge Bradley DeMeo this morning that he and defense attorney Chris Andrian have scheduled a conference for this week and Dunaway will enter a plea Friday.

After Dunaway's arraignment in May, Andrian said Dunaway accepts
responsibility for the crash, but he is obligated to review all reports about the Dec. 1 incident. He said the prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that only one of the three alleged driving violations was the "proximate cause" of the accident, and that the district attorney's office made the right decision filing a misdemeanor, not a felony charge.

The 5:30 p.m. collision also injured the girl's mother, Ling Murray, 42, who also was in the crosswalk at Snyder Lane and Medical Center Drive in Rohnert Park.

Murray suffered major injuries and was in a hospital, then a rehabilitation facility, until early March.

Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety Sgt. Jeff Nicks said in
December that Dunaway acknowledged she was using her Verizon phone at the time of the collision but she was unsure if she was texting or talking on the phone.

A headset that would have enabled hands-free phone use was not
found in Dunaway's 1997 Honda, Nicks said. 

Murray and her daughter were returning to their Rohnert Park home
from nearby Sunrise Park. They were walking east on Snyder Lane in the crosswalk about 11 feet from the curb when they were struck by the Honda on their left, Nicks said. Speed was not found to be a factor in the crash.

Dunaway was returning to Sonoma State University after visiting
her mother's home, Nicks said. Nicks said she was devastated after the crash.

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