BREA : No Felony Charge in Girl’s Traffic Death

Prosecutors on Tuesday filed misdemeanor manslaughter charges against a Brea man whose car fatally struck a 6-year-old girl in a crosswalk in Placentia.

Sean Eric Hannam was driving to work on April 18 when his vehicle struck Maria DeAvila, 25, of Fullerton and her daughter, Priscilla Marquez, as they crossed Crowther Avenue at Melrose Street.

The mother suffered a broken hip and a fractured skull. The child died at the scene from massive head and internal injuries.

Hannam, 22, told authorities he was blinded by the morning sun and did not see the pair. He could face a sentence of up to a year in Orange County Jail if convicted.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Tom McCool said the police reports of the incident do not indicate gross negligence by Hannam, which would be required to file a felony charge of vehicular manslaughter.

“Under misdemeanor manslaughter,

we must show that the incident occurred while the driver was engaged in an unlawful act (driving into a crosswalk with pedestrians) or a lawful act in an unlawful manner,” McCool said. He said his office would present both of those theories to a jury.

Hannam remains free and a trial date is pending.