SAN DIEGO — San Diego police are recommending serious charges against a teen driver involved in a high-speed crash in Sabre Springs that killed her 17-year-old best friend, 10News learned.
Police estimated Meagan Ruiz may have been driving in excess of 80 mph when she crossed the center line and slammed head-on into an Enterprise rental truck on May 28.
Five teenagers were in the car, and 17-year-old BreAnna Erickson, sitting in the middle back seat, died at the scene. The other teens suffered injuries and were taken to the hospital.
Erickson recently finished her junior year at Rancho Bernardo High School and hoped to become a pediatrician, friends and family said.
Ruiz and Erickson were best friends, and Erickson’s parents said Ruiz was like another daughter to them and are hoping she will not face prosecution.
“I guess that goes to that judgment thing, and a poor decision was made,” said Mark Woody, Erickson’s stepfather.
San Diego police have recommended charges of gross vehicular manslaughter, reckless driving causing bodily injury and speeding.
Ruiz was driving on a provisional license, meaning no other teens in the car unless accompanied by an adult.
The San Diego County District Attorney’s Office will now weigh the evidence, punishment and deterrence in the case.
“What kind of message does the DA send to the public? Then they have to deal with the appropriate punishment for her, the specific deterrent. What kind of price should she pay? Probably more in what she’s going through than the criminal justice system could do to her,” said trial attorney Guadalupe Valencia.
A felony conviction could bring as much as six years in prison Ruiz, but Valencia said it’s more likely misdemeanor charges would be pursued in the juvenile system, with a more likely term of a year or less at an honor camp.
The decision on prosecution should be made within the next few weeks.