Driver Charged With Manslaughter
A 26-year-old La Crescenta woman was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated after allegedly causing an accident on the Glendale Freeway in which two people died, authorities said Friday.
Na Hyun Kwak rear-ended a Toyota in a middle lane Wednesday, a California Highway Patrol official said. The Toyota burst into flames and sideswiped a third car, causing minor damage.
A 15-year-old from Burbank and a 35-year-old Tujunga man died in the Toyota’s back seat. A spokesman for the coroner’s office withheld the names pending confirmed identification from dental records. Other drivers were able to free the Toyota’s driver and front passenger.
Kwak’s blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.18%, Glendale police said. The legal limit for driving is 0.08%. She was charged in Glendale Superior Court with two counts of vehicular manslaughter and two counts of driving under the influence and causing great bodily injury to the two surviving victims, said Sandi Gibbons, a spokeswoman for the district attorney. Kwak was being held on $300,000 bail. Arraignment is set for Jan. 12.
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