Woman Sentenced in Crash

A teenager accused of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter after she crashed into an Orange County Sheriff’s Department motorcycle deputy agreed Monday to perform 200 hours of community service during a six-month informal probation.

The case against Kristen Elzby, 18, can be dropped in six months.

“She is very grateful that she’s going to have the opportunity to earn the dismissal of this case ... and try to move forward with her life,” said her attorney, Thomas Kroopf. “She feels horrible for the family” of Sgt. Matthew Davis.

Appearing before Commissioner Michael Cassidy in the juvenile division of Orange County Superior Court, Elzby also was ordered to complete a 12-hour traffic safety course, continue psychological counseling and make financial restitution to Davis’ family in an amount to be determined.

Cassidy turned down the request of Assistant Dist. Atty. Ted Burnett for a guilty plea.

Burnett, however, said he was satisfied. “These are the same terms and conditions [that would have been imposed] had she entered a formal plea,” he said. “By accepting them, she is taking some measure of responsibility.”

Elzby was a 17-year-old high school student last September when the car she was driving collided with Davis at a Mission Viejo intersection. Davis, 38, died two days later. An hour after his death, Elzby prayed with his widow, Tammy.

Elzby and Tammy Davis, through their attorneys, declined to be interviewed Monday. According to Kroopf, the teenager plans to satisfy part of the community service by speaking to groups about her experience.

“She’s looking forward [to having] other people ... learn from what she’s gone through,” he said.