Upland Woman Pleads Guilty to Manslaughter
A woman whose lane change on the Moreno Valley Freeway in April 2004 led to a crash that killed three people pleaded guilty in Riverside County Superior Court Tuesday to three misdemeanor counts of vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence.
Sofia Glentis of Upland pulled out of a lane slowed by traffic, surprising a woman driving a Honda Accord in the faster-moving left lane. The driver of the Accord, Andrea Venute, 20, was killed when she swerved across a dirt median into opposing traffic, smashing into a van carrying disabled passengers. Two people in the van also died.
Prosecutors dropped one felony charge of hit and run as part of a plea bargain agreement, and Glentis will be subject to a maximum term of one year in jail when sentenced April 7.
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