Sebastopol Man Pleads No Contest To Felony Charges In Connection To Fatal DUI Crash
SANTA ROSA (CBS SF) -- A Sebastopol man pleaded no contest Friday to felony charges in connection with a crash that killed a Santa Rosa mother last year, according to prosecutors.
Emile Carlitz Smith, 34, pleaded no contest to driving a vehicle and causing a death with gross negligence while intoxicated, driving under the influence of drugs resulting in death and an enhancement of causing great bodily injury, according to the Sonoma County District Attorney's Office.
Smith was the driver in a Mazda Miata that crashed on Todd Road just west of Stony Point Road shortly after 4:30 p.m. on Nov. 23, 2012.
He was driving east at a high rate of speed when the Mazda drifted off the south side of the road and the passenger side of the car struck a tree, CHP officials said.
His passenger, Selena Ross, 34, was extricated by firefighters and taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, but later died of her injuries.
Smith, who was also injured in the crash, tested positive for a large amount of methamphetamine in his blood a short time later in the hospital, prosecutors said.
He was initially uncooperative with investigators and denied knowing who Ross was, delaying efforts to identify her and notify her family, prosecutors said.
In addition to the current charges, Smith has five prior prison stays on his record, prosecutors said.
Smith is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 5, 2014 and faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in state prison.
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