The 23-year-old driver charged with vehicular manslaughter in last year’s “Fourth of July fireworks” collision had been sentenced to anger management classes after being convicted of battery five years ago, court records show.
She also received four traffic citations in a 3-year period including a red-light ticket just seven months prior to the fatal crash, and had been warned by the Department of Motor Vehicles to drive more carefully, officials said.
Melissa Brigitte Brown of Canyon Country was 18 years old on Nov. 17, 2006, when she pleaded no contest at the Santa Clarita Courthouse to one count of battery and one count of disturbing the peace, both misdemeanors, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.
SCV Traffic Sgt. Richard Cohen said the court placed Brown on 12 months probation, ordering her to pay restitution and attend anger management classes. No details were immediately available Friday about the 2006 incident; the charges were filed Aug. 2 of that year.
Since that time, Brown, now 23, was ticketed for speeding once in 2007 and twice in 2009. On Dec. 12, 2009, she also received a citation for running a red light.
The DMV sent her letters “indicating she needed to slow down,” Cohen said.
Brown is suspected of running a red light on Valencia Boulevard at 9:40 p.m. on July 4, 2010, while thousands of spectators lined Valencia Boulevard as the city of Santa Clarita’s fireworks show was drawing to a close. Officials say Brown collided with another vehicle at the Mall Entrance intersection. The impact caused her white sedan to spin out of control, jump the curb and strike several pedestrians. Numerous spectators captured the incident on their cell-phone cameras.
Matilde Garnica, 43, of Newhall, was pronounced dead at the scene, and some of Garnica’s family members were injured.
District Attorney spokeswoman Sandi Gibbons said it would be up to the individual prosecutor to decide how to handle Brown’s past record in the current proceedings. She said the prosecutor would probably bring up “any information about her driving record that the court allows to be brought into evidence.”
Initially charged in February and released on her own recognizance, Brown pleaded not guilty Wednesday in San Fernando Superior Court to one count of vehicular manslaughter and one count of running a red light. She faces six years in prison if convicted on the charges as filed, according to the District Attorney’s office. She is due back in court Oct. 12.
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With the end of countywide COVID-19 emergency declarations on March 31, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Heal is aligning county safety measures with federal and state COVID-19 guidance, while continuing to require a few common-sense measures at worksites, educational institutions and healthcare facilities to reduce COVID-19-related disruptions and protect the people at highest risk of severe illness.
Want to try your hand at gardening but don’t have much space? Learn how to start your garden in a small space. Be creative and add vegetables and lush greenery to your patio. Join the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency's free virtual landscape and gardening workshop, "Small Space Gardening," on Saturday, April 8, at 9 a.m.
With the end of countywide COVID-19 emergency declarations on March 31, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Heal is aligning county safety measures with federal and state COVID-19 guidance, while continuing to require a few common-sense measures at worksites, educational institutions and healthcare facilities to reduce COVID-19-related disruptions and protect the people at highest risk of severe illness.
Want to try your hand at gardening but don’t have much space? Learn how to start your garden in a small space. Be creative and add vegetables and lush greenery to your patio. Join the Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency's free virtual landscape and gardening workshop, "Small Space Gardening," on Saturday, April 8, at 9 a.m.
The Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station 2023 Baker to Vegas Team is competing in the 120 mile Baker to Las Vegas Challenge Cup Relay which starts in Baker, Calif. on Saturday, April 1 and ends in Las Vegas, Nev. on Sunday, April 2.
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority reminds drivers in the Santa Clarita Valley the I-5 North County Enhancements Project will continue with work on SR-14 to Magic Mountain Parkway and SR-126 to Parker Road planned for the week of April 3 to April 9.
As you make your way down Main Street in Old Town Newhall, the sight of buffalo soldiers, the smell of an old cast iron Dutch ovens cooking peach cobbler and the sound of cowboy boots clacking against the wooden slats of the sidewalks will instantly transport you to the early days of the West.
The Rio Norte Junior High School Concert Band, Concert Choir and Vocal Jazz Ensemble, "The Jazz Hawks," secured top awards at the recent Music in the Parks Festival held at Knotts Berry Farm in Buena Park.
The California Department of Transportation advises motorists that all lanes on Southbound Interstate 5 will be closed on Saturday night, April 1 and Sunday night, April 2, as crews work to limit damage from a landslide in Castaic after a recent series of powerful storms and intense rainfall.
Los Angeles County Parks is hiring. This Spring, we are looking to employ our local L.A. County Youth with an excellent entry level job that pays more than minimum wage ($16.04) and allows them to work at their local L.A. County Park, including Val Verde Park.
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services announced that the last day of operations for the COVID-19 PCR testing centers will be Friday, March 31.
Santa Clarita Valley residents once again came together during the 2022 holiday season to raise money and donate items to charity, as approximately 2,500 riders joined Santa Clarita Transit’s Holiday Light Tour.
Deborah Anderson, Los Angeles County Library’s assistant director of Education and Engagement, has been selected to receive the prestigious 2023 Sullivan Award for Public Library Administrators Supporting Services to Children.
In alignment with both the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health will change to weekly reporting of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths data beginning April 6.
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