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Charges expected on auto-related cases pending since June
By MATT KAPKO
Half Moon Bay Review
October 13, 2004
Two fatal traffic accidents in June remain under review at the San Mateo County District Attorney's Office.
It is still unclear if and when criminal charges will be filed.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe is hopeful that action will be taken on both cases in the next week, however.
In both incidents the victims were on foot, walking in either a marked crosswalk or pedestrian/bicycle lane.
Tammy Houston, 33, allegedly hit and killed 53-year-old Renate Franke in a traffic accident on Airport Boulevard just before 10 p.m. June 12.
Houston, who lives in El Granada, was arrested on two counts of felony drunken driving and one count of vehicular manslaughter. She posted $50,000 bail and was released the following evening.
Houston has not been arraigned. The district attorney's office has up to a year to file felony charges in any case.
The case is still pending because it was sent back to the California Highway Patrol for more investigation. The District Attorney's Office has received the information it was seeking and now anticipates charges being filed soon, Wagstaffe said.
If convicted of the charges she was arrested for, she could spend up to four years incarcerated.
Houston's blue Ford sedan allegedly struck Franke as she was walking north along Airport Boulevard just west of the Half Moon Bay Airport.
The car sustained two large dents and a shattered windshield during the crash.
Houston left the scene of the accident to locate a telephone and call 911 for help, according to California Highway Patrol spokesman Christian Oliver.
Oliver declined to comment on the amount of alcohol in Houston's system at the time of her arrest.
A little more than a week prior, David Vieira, 84, allegedly hit and killed 7-year-old Maria Ahilet Perez in a traffic accident at the intersection of Kelly and Pilarcitos avenues.
The accident occurred on the morning of June 3 as many children and parents were on their way to Hatch Elementary School.
Perez was reportedly walking hand-in-hand with her mother and 5-year-old sister in the crosswalk when Vieira's recreational vehicle struck her, caught on her backpack and pulled her underneath the vehicle.
Following the incident, police said Vieira, who resides in Tracy, did not see the family in the intersection.
The girl and Vieira, who appeared to suffer from a heart attack minutes later, were taken to San Mateo County General Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
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