Hacienda Heights woman faces charges for fatal La Habra crash

A driver from Hacienda Heights accused of killing a pedestrian and injuring another in La Habra will be arraigned today in an Orange County courtroom.

The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has charged Caroline Sujin Kim with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, leaving the scene of an accident, evading police while driving recklessly and hit-and-run causing serious injury or death. All are felonies.

If convicted of all the charges, she faces a maximum sentence of 13 years and eight months in prison.

The charges stem from an incident on Oct. 25. Authorities said Kim was speeding in a Cadillac sedan on Whittier Boulevard at around 8:50 p.m.

She allegedly ran a red light at Rigsby Street and hit two pedestrians walking in the marked crosswalk, 38-year-old Sandra Ceballos of La Habra and a 43-year-old woman. The Cadillac drove away.

Ceballos was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center where she later died of her injuries.

Whittier police got a call from a motorist who was following the sedan involved in the hit-and-run. Officers picked up the sedan on Colima Road but the driver refused to pull over. The sedan reached a top speed of 90 mph.

The pursuit ended when the sedan hit a parked car on Countrywood Avenue and Pepper Brook Way in Hacienda Heights. Kim, was taken into custody. She is currently out on bond.

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