Monday, March 31, 2014

Arraignment Postponed for Woman Charged with 6 Counts of Murder in Wrong-Way Crash



Olivia Carolee Culbreath is charged with six counts of murder for allegedly causing a Feb. 9 wrong-way crash on the Pomona (60) Freeway in Diamond Bar.

Arraignment has been postponed to May 21 at 11 a.m. for Olivia Carolee Culbreath, who is charged with six counts of murder for allegedly causing a wrong-way, high-speed, head-on crash on the Pomona (60) Freeway in Diamond Bar.

This is the second time the arraignment was rescheduled.

The Feb. 9 crash happened about 4:45 a.m., while Culbreath was driving her 2013 Chevrolet Camaro at speeds approaching 100 mph, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Culbreath somehow got on the southbound Orange (57) Freeway going north, then transitioned to the westbound 60 going east, where the Camaro crashed head-on into a 1998 Ford Explorer north of Diamond Bar Boulevard, according to the CHP. A 2006 Ford Freestyle then slammed into the Explorer.
Culbreath's 24-year-old sister, Maya, and another passenger, Kristin Young, 21, of Chino, died in the crash, along with four people ejected from the Explorer. They were identified as Huntington Park residents Gregorio Mejia- Martinez, 47, Leticia Ibarra, 42, Jessica Mejia, 20, and Ester Delgado, 80.
Culbreath was taken to Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center in serious condition with a fractured femur and ruptured bladder, according to the CHP, and was treated in the hospital's jail ward before being moved to the Twin Towers Correctional Facility.
Culbreath faces a maximum life prison sentence if convicted of the murder charges.
She was booked on suspicion of drunken driving and manslaughter following the crash, but was not charged with either of those counts. However, the District Attorney's Office said the complaint could be amended.
"The CHP is still investigating and gathering information," District Attorney's Office spokeswoman Sarah Ardalani said.
Culbreath was convicted of driving under the influence on April 13, 2010, when she was 17, according to Department of Motor Vehicles records. She was stopped for two more violations before her license was reinstated in December 2011, according to the DMV, which lifted restrictions on her license just a week prior to the deadly crash.
Her sister Maya had multiple convictions for drunken driving and her license had been revoked, according to the DMV.
—City News Service

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