Crime Q&A: What happened to woman accused of road rage in Placer County?

Q: What ever came of the case of Deirdre Orozco, the woman accused of two road rage incidents back in December of 2014? Was she ever sentenced?

A: Deirdre Orozco, a Santa Clara resident, was arrested in connection with two traffic-related incidents in Placer County, including one on Interstate 80 near Auburn that was captured on video and posted on YouTube.

According to Placer County Superior Court records available online, Orozco pleaded no contest in March to making threats to commit a crime resulting in death and assault with a deadly weapon. She was sentenced to 925 days in county jail, with credit for time served, and five years probation.

The incident posted on YouTube occurred Dec. 20, 2014 as Delanie Strykul of Turlock and her friend, Vanessa Gladieux, of Yuba City, were traveling on Interstate 80 in a Mazda when the driver of a Ford Explorer, later identified as Orozco, repeatedly tailgated and cut off their vehicle, according to a story in The Sacramento Bee. Eventually, Strykul, a passenger in the Mazda, made an obscene gesture and Orozco escalated her response.

The CHP report said Strykul told dispatchers that the Explorer was tailgating the Mazda. As the Explorer pulled alongside the Mazda, Strykul made the rude hand gesture toward the Explorer. When the vehicles were west of the Gold Run highway rest area, the Explorer pulled in front of the car and came to an abrupt stop. Orozco got out of her vehicle and approached the Mazda, held up an unknown type of identification card, identified herself as a sheriff and stated that the two women in the car were going to jail, according to the CHP.

Gladieux sped off, trying to get away from the Explorer, but Orozco chased the women, eventually striking the left side of the Mazda and forcing it onto the shoulder of the freeway.

Strykul relayed what was happening to the dispatcher, who instructed the women to exit at Dutch Flat, where an officer at a service station came to their aid. Orozco followed them into the gas station and CHP officers stopped her.

Roseville police reported that Orozco was also arrested in a Dec. 17, 2014 incident in which a woman driving a sport-utility vehicle collided with another car at Sunrise Avenue and Cirby Way, then left the scene. The SUV driver, later identified as Orozco, continued to a relative’s house in Roseville and allegedly threw rocks through a front window while threatening the residents with bodily harm.

This story was originally published October 18, 2016 at 10:29 PM with the headline "Crime Q&A: What happened to woman accused of road rage in Placer County?."