Local News in Brief : Woman Gets 16 Months in Death of Cyclist

A Lancaster woman was sentenced to 16 months in prison Wednesday in the death of a motorcyclist whom she hit while driving under the influence of alcohol.

Daphne Lynn Carey, 25, pleaded guilty in Van Nuys Superior Court in November in the August 28, 1987, accident that resulted in the death of John Hamaker, 35, of Winnetka.

Carey was driving east on Parthenia Street at Balboa Boulevard at 8:50 p.m. when she ran a red light and struck Hamaker’s motorcycle, authorities said. Hamaker, who was not wearing a helmet, died instantly of head and chest injuries.

Two passengers in Carey’s car, her 8-month-old son and a 23-year-old man, were not injured.

Carey was given a breath test at the scene that showed a blood-alcohol level of 0.19%, almost twice the state’s legal limit for intoxication of 0.10%, authorities said.

Carey, who had worked as a waitress, told authorities that she had had “a couple of beers” earlier in the day while at the zoo with her son, according to the probation report.

The report also said that Carey had been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol in 1981 and had been attending an alcohol-treatment program since the 1987 accident. She will be eligible for parole in about 8 months, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Rebecca S. Dewees.