Marin Woman Killed In Crash May Have Been Texting
KENTFIELD (BCN) -- The California Highway Patrol is investigating whether a Kentfield woman was sending text messages on her cell phone around the time she died in a car accident Wednesday night.
Lauren Nelson, 28, was killed when her 2000 Lexus RX300 crashed on southbound U.S. Highway 101 near Marin City. She was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected from the car as it overturned and struck a concrete wall, CHP Officer Chris Rardin said.
Nelson landed in the southbound lanes, and the car came to rest in the northbound lanes, the CHP said. The Lexus did not strike any other vehicles during the 8:15 p.m. accident, Rardin said.
The officer investigating the crash was told by the recipient of the text messages, reportedly Nelson's boyfriend, that Nelson sent texts five to 10 minutes before the crash, Rardin said.
The CHP is still trying to determine if Nelson was struck by a vehicle after she was ejected from her Lexus, Rardin said.
Nelson graduated in 2000 from The Branson School, a private high school in Ross, where a memorial service is planned for 12:30 p.m. Sunday.
Mary Bourke, the school's director of alumni and communications, said Nelson's family wants the memorial to be a celebration of her life.
Nelson is survived by her sister Mickey, Class of 2002, brother Patrick, and parents John and Vicki Nelson, Bourke said.
The memorial celebration will be held in the school's Student Commons in the lower campus, Bourke said.
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