A Ventura County woman is facing a vehicular manslaughter charge stemming from a high-speed crash on Highway 101 in Montecito that killed a man last summer, according to the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office.

Ricki Leigh Newton, 22, of Oxnard is due in Superior Court in Santa Barbara for arraignment on March 15, Deputy District Attorney Michelle Mossembekker said.

The felony complaint filed Friday alleges that Newton was driving a Toyota Camry in excess of 100 mph at about 3 a.m. on Aug. 13, 2023, when it collided with a Mercury Mountaineer SUV on southbound Highway 101 just before the Olive Mill Road exit.

The crash occurred where the three-lane highway merges into two lanes.

The Mountaineer veered down an embankment off the highway, and Louis Hernandez Jr., 77, of Santa Paula was fatally injured when he was ejected from the vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The driver of the Mountaineer, Virginia Montelongo, 67, of Santa Paula, suffered moderate injuries in the crash, while Newton and two passengers in her vehicle sustained minor injuries, the CHP said.

After Newton was arrested, she also was booked on suspicion of felony DUI, but it’s unclear why she was not charged with that offense.

A defendant convicted of vehicle manslaughter with gross negligence faces up to six years in state prison and a fine of up to $10,000.