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A woman accused of slamming a vehicle into a Pomona taco stand, killing one man and injuring as many as a dozen other people, pleaded not guilty Friday to vehicular manslaughter and other charges.
Diana Beatriz Martinezumana, now 26, was charged Oct. 17 with one count of vehicular manslaughter, two counts of hit-and-run resulting in death or serious injury and eight counts of reckless driving causing injury, according to Los Angeles County prosecutors.
The crash occurred just before 7:45 p.m. Oct. 14 in the area of West Holt Avenue and Dudley Street, near Kiwanis Park, according to the Pomona Police Department.
The driver, a Pomona resident, was eastbound on Holt Avenue when the vehicle veered into westbound lanes, crashing into the taco stand, police said.
“The vehicle’s driver fled the scene and officers began actively searching for her,” police said. “More than an hour later, the suspect returned to the scene and turned herself in.”
The crash killed Gilberto Cazares Payan, 52, according to the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. Payan’s goddaughter told ABC7 that the father of four was picking up dinner at the taco stand when the crash occurred.
Martinezumana was initially released on bond Oct. 17, then taken back into custody on Monday, jail records show.
She is due back in a Pomona courtroom Feb. 2.
