Local News in Brief : Driver in Fatal Crash Gets 2 Years in Prison
A 32-year-old Sylmar woman was sentenced Thursday to two years in state prison for vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of barbiturates.
The driver, Kimberly Sue Stoner, was under the influence of amobarbital when her car sped through a red light and smashed into a truck in December, 1985, killing 19-year-old Barbara Eldred of Canoga Park, court records showed. The collision occurred at Sherman Way and Winnetka Avenue in Canoga Park.
Stoner pleaded guilty in March to vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of the narcotic, and faced a maximum of three years in prison under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Deputy Dist. Atty. Phillip H. Rabichow said.
Stoner asserted that she had stopped at the red light but that her foot accidentally pressed the accelerator when she reached down to retrieve her sunglasses from the floor of the car, court records show.
Rabichow termed Stoner’s explanation “an out-and-out lie” that contradicted the statements of s e veral witnesses.
Van Nuys Superior Court Judge Richard G. Kolostian said Stoner’s apparent lack of remorse and her deceit contributed to his decision to sentence her to prison rather than probation.
Stoner will be eligible for parole in about a year.
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