| For Immediate Release May 11, 2007 |
Contact: Farrah Emami Spokesperson Office: 714-347-8405 Cell: 714-323-4486 |
DRIVER PLEADS GUILTY TO KILLING
ORANGE CITY COUNCILMAN IN HEAD-ON
CAR CRASH WHILE ON METHAMPHETAMINE
*Victim was Orange City Councilman Steven Ambriz
SANTA ANA – A 31-year-old woman was convicted today of killing an Orange Councilman while driving under the influence of methamphetamine. Sara Lyn Ward, a grocery story clerk, pleaded guilty to the court to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and possession of marijuana while driving. The defendant, who was indicted on the charges on September 1, 2006, is scheduled to be sentenced Friday, July 27, 2007 at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-41, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. The People will request the maximum sentence of ten years in prison.
On the evening of May 25, 2006, Ward was driving her 2002 Dodge Dakota pick-up truck while under the influence of methamphetamine. She was driving erratically on Santiago Canyon Road in Orange and veering her car across the 12-foot asphalt median onto the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic. While driving on the wrong side of the road, Ward crashed head-on into a Toyota Camry driven by Orange City Councilman Steven Frank Ambriz, who was killed in the crash. He is survived by a wife and 4-year-old daughter. Ward was also in possession of marijuana at the time of the crash.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Olivieri of the Felony Projects Unit is prosecuting this case.
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