People v. Nicolas

Opinion

MOORE, Acting P. J.

—A jury found defendant Jorene Ypanto Nicolas guilty of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence. Essentially, defendant was on her phone and texting while driving on the freeway. The deceased victim had been in her car, stalled in a traffic jam. Defendant crashed into the rear of the victim’s car at about 80 miles per hour.

In this appeal, defendant claims: (a) there was insufficient evidence of gross negligence; (b) the trial court committed three separate instructional errors; and (c) the court abused its discretion by imposing an upper term sentence (six…