Gold River woman, 75, faces charge in crash that killed woman near Sacramento school
A Gold River woman accused in a crash earlier this year that killed a mother near an East Sacramento elementary school has been charged with misdemeanor manslaughter.
Guadalupe Jimenez, a 45-year-old Elk Grove woman, died Jan. 13 when she was struck by a car involved in a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Folsom Boulevard and 60th Street.
Sacramento Superior Court records show prosecutors on Jan. 31 filed one charge of misdemeanor manslaughter against Kathy Ann Meier.
Meier, 75, was arrested Feb. 3 by Sacramento police and released in lieu of $100,000 bail, court records show.
Jimenez was struck while crossing the street near Phoebe Hearst Elementary School around 1:20 p.m., during parent pickup hours. She suffered major injuries and died at a hospital, police said.
A Sacramento Police Department spokesperson in January said detectives would submit their investigation to the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office to determine whether criminal charges would be filed. The Police Department did not release the names of either involved driver at the time.
Under California law, involuntary manslaughter can be charged as a misdemeanor when the driver has committed an unlawful act that does not amount to a felony but results in death, and where the driver is determined to be acting without gross negligence.
Detectives with the Sacramento Police Department determined last month’s crash was caused by a vehicle entering the intersection against a red light, and that speed and intoxication were not factors.
The criminal complaint filed by the District Attorney’s Office said Meier acted “without malice and without gross negligence” in the Jan. 13 collision.
Meier is scheduled to be arraigned April 25, court records show.
Misdemeanor manslaughter carries a maximum of one year in county jail.
The deadly incident left the Phoebe Hearst community grieving. Many children and adults present at the campus witnessed the incident, according to the Sacramento City Unified School District, which sent grief counselors to the school to help students, teachers and parents dealing with trauma.
Leticia Garcia, a Sacramento City Unified trustee, wrote in an email to parents Jan. 14 that she would work with city officials to improve street safety.
“Parent pickup is often a joyous time as families reunite after a day of school, and it’s easy to forget the dangers of high speed traffic.”
