A driver facing two counts of vehicular manslaughter for a crash that killed a Santa Maria couple changed her plea to guilty earlier this month in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.
Edith Gomez-Camarillo, 21, of Santa Maria was arrested weeks after a husband and wife were killed in the two-vehicle collision that occurred at approximately 9:15 a.m. Aug. 1 at Stowell and Bradley roads.
Santa Maria police said Gomez-Camarillo was driving east on Stowell Road when her vehicle struck the passenger side of a southbound vehicle with two occupants driving along Bradley Road.
Officers said that based on witness statements and evidence from the scene, it appeared that Gomez-Camarillo ran the red light at the busy intersection.
Killed were Randall and Marichu Kern. He was 68 years old; she was 55.
As part of her changed plea, Gomez-Camarillo admitted she was driving “much faster than the speed limit.
“I failed to stop at the light at Stowell and Miller and continued speeding down Stowell. I did not stop at the red light at Stowell and Bradley and crashed into a 2021 Mazda driven by the Kerns. My unlawful action, with gross negligence, killed Randall Kern and Marichu Kern,” Gomez-Camarillo admitted in a written addendum to her plea.
On July 9 in a Lompoc courtroom, Judge Stephen Dunkle sentenced her to one year in jail and two years of felony probation to include time in a residential treatment program focused on mental health.
The victims’ children spoke at the sentencing, and Gomez-Camarillo provided an apology.
Gomez-Camarillo faced a maximum sentence of more than seven years in prison.
Senior Deputy District Attorney Madison Whitmore led the prosecution team while Adrian Galvan repressed the defendant.
The incident was one of multiple fatal crashes in the Santa Maria Valley within several weeks.