• 09
  • April
    2010

A jury in San Diego County reached a guilty verdict in the trial of a Deborah Felix - who faced charges stemming from the fatal accident that killed Cydil Deann Kohlmeyer last November. Felix was convicted of both gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and a misdemeanor hit and run for her role in the accident.

She faces sentencing from El Cajon Judge Lantz Lewis in mid-May.

During the trial, prosecuting attorney Heather Trocha described how Felix, intoxicated, veered off the road, striking Kohlmeyer, plowing through several mailboxes and driving a parked truck 60 feet before slamming into a garage. Initially unwilling to exit the truck, Felix was eventually coaxed out, but then disappeared, claiming she had to use the bathroom.

She was found moments later, hiding in a ditch, prompting the hit and run charges against her. Karen Hirr, Felix's defense lawyer argued that her client simply could not find a private place to use the bathroom. However, this argument failed to convince the jury, which determined that Felix had, indeed, fled the scene of the fatal accident.

In total, Felix faces up to 15 years in a California state prison.

Under the California penal code, gross vehicular manslaughter is a separate, more serious, charge than simple vehicular manslaughter and carries a penalty of 4-to-10 years, versus 1-to-4 years. Fleeing the scene of a fatal car accident is punishable by up to 4 years in state prison. Hit and run convictions also carry a fine of up to $10,000.

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