Driver Pleads No Contest In Killing Of San Mateo Pedestrian, Gets 6 Months Jail
REDWOOD CITY (CBS SF) -- A San Mateo woman was sentenced Tuesday to six months in jail and three years of probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter for hitting and killing a woman with her minivan, San Mateo County prosecutors said today.
Sonia Toor, 23, was driving a green Nissan minivan at about 2:45 p.m. on Nov. 14, 2014, at a Walgreen's drive-thru window at 191 E. Third Ave. in San Mateo when she decided to back up quickly.
The Nissan struck 84-year-old Nina Falk, who was stepping off a curb, prosecutors said. Falk died a day later at a hospital, according to police.
Officers asked Toor to take a chemical test, which Toor refused to do. But police obtained a search warrant for Toor's blood and determined she was under the influence of marijuana and other drugs, according to prosecutors.
However, Toor's defense attorney said Wednesday court proceedings revealed that his client was not under the influence, and that prosecutors dismissed the DUI
allegation.
In addition to her jail term and probation, Toor will have to pay restitution to the victim's estate in an amount yet to be determined, abstain from alcohol and drugs including marijuana, submit to drug tests, search and seizure, get counseling as directed, and possess no deadly weapons or ammunition.
Toor's driver's license will be revoked and she'll have to pay fees and fines related to her case, according to prosecutors.
She pleaded no contest on April 11 to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and a misdemeanor probation violation as part of a plea deal. Prosecutors had sought a nine-month jail sentence but San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Lee instead sentenced her to six months.
Her defense attorney today said his client suffers a great deal of grief over the fatal collision. "She is suffering tremendous grief over this. Not a day goes by that she isn't having nightmares about this horrible tragedy and the result of this accident," said Toor's attorney Jeff Jackson. "It is a tragedy that the woman died. My thoughts and my client's thoughts go out to the family. This was a terrible accident."
Toor is out of custody on a $250,000 bond. She must report to jail on Aug. 6, prosecutors said.
"My client backed up without looking and caused the accident," Jackson said. "Again, my thoughts go out to the victim's family."
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