I'm not sure we posted this before....
Woman gets probation for hit-and-run death
By LARRY WELBORN
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Shana Lynne Calderon booking photo
SANTA ANA – A Newport Beach woman who struck and killed a pedestrian when he inexplicably stepped off a curb as she was driving by was placed on probation Monday and ordered to spend a year in an alcohol and drug treatment facility for felony hit-and-run.
Shana Lynne Calderon, 21, was driving in her white 1995 Ford Explorer south on Newport Boulevard in Costa Mesa about 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 12 when she struck Michael McLaughlin, 29, as he stepped off the curb near 19th Street.
McLaughlin, of San Diego, bounced off the windshield and landed on the pavement. He died a week later.
Calderon initially parked nearby and briefly returned to the scene and talked with a witness before leaving in the Explorer, according to the District Attorney's Office.
Approximately two hours later, Calderon turned herself in to the Costa Mesa Police Department, where she displayed signs of intoxication, including bloodshot and watery eyes, flushed face, slurred speech and an odor of alcohol on her breath, according to prosecutors.
She pleaded guilty in August to felony hit-and-run, misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol, misdemeanor driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more, misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia and driving without a license.
Defense attorney Jack Earley asked for probation for Calderon after noting that McLaughlin was legally drunk when he stepped off the curb in dark clothing on a rainy night into oncoming traffic.
Deputy District Attorney Jason Baez said he could not prove with the available evidence whether a sober driver could have avoided hitting McLaughlin.
Superior Court Judge Robert Fitzgerald handed down his sentence after hearing poignant victim impact statements from McLaughlin's mother and sister, who flew into Orange County from the East Coast to be present in court. Their statements were delayed from Friday because a power outage closed the courthouse, pushing all criminal cases over to Monday.
In her statement, Margaret McLaughlin, the victim's mother, remembered her son's kind and loving eyes, and said his death "left a permanent hole in my heart."