A 21-year-old Rancho Bernardo woman pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges she was driving drunk in a hit-and-run crash that has left a career Marine on life support at a hospital.
San Diego County residents have rallied behind 34-year-old Gunnery Sgt. Dave Smith, stationed at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, by donating cash and plane tickets so his mother and other family members can be with him.“The public has been very supportive,” Smith’s mother, Catherine Joyner of North Carolina, said in an interview. “A radio station bought my daughters’ plane tickets. People have offered us rooms in their homes. All the help is greatly appreciated.”
Smith is in a medically induced coma at Palomar Medical Center in Escondido with severe head injuries.
His motorcycle was rear-ended when he was stopped at a red light at Bernardo Center Drive near West Bernardo Drive about 12:30 p.m. Sunday, San Diego police said.
Witnesses who saw a Chevrolet Blazer hit the motorcycle, then keep going, followed the driver to a Paseo Montanoso apartment complex and called police. Jessica Marie Bloom was arrested and booked into jail.
In court Wednesday, Bloom was charged with felony driving under the influence causing great bodily injury and coma, and felony hit and run causing coma. She faces up to nine years in prison if convicted, county prosecutors said. Her bail was set at $100,000.
Bloom’s blood-alcohol content was 0.37 percent — or more than four times the legal driving limit, said Deputy District Attorney Matthew Williams. Read More
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