Mother Sentenced in Car Wreck That Killed Son

A North Hollywood mother, who was high on drugs when she was involved in a car wreck that killed her 7-year-old son, was sentenced Friday to six years in state prison.

Lynn Margie Julian, 30, was immediately returned to Los Angeles County Jail, where she has been held since July in lieu of $1 million bail.

Julian sat quietly throughout the hourlong sentencing by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Leslie A. Dunn.

Julian had been charged with second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter, child abuse and possession of methamphetamine.

However, prosecutors agreed to drop the murder and child abuse charges in exchange for Julian’s agreement to plead guilty to manslaughter and drug possession. She could have faced a maximum of 15 years and eight months in prison had she been convicted on all four counts.

“This is a fair settlement,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Peter Korn said outside the courtroom. “The suffering she is undergoing will have a severe effect on her. There is no reason to drag her through a trial. I am satisfied.”

Defense attorney Randolph Wright and several family members declined to comment after the hearing.

Julian’s son, Tyler Chernoff, was riding in the front passenger seat when Julian slammed her sports car into a parked tractor-trailer truck on Vineland Avenue in North Hollywood on July 5. Although both were wearing seat belts, the boy suffered massive head injuries and died.

Julian has had previous brushes with the law. The woman’s license was suspended seven times between April 1996 and May 2000, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records.