Softball Star Killed by Distracted Driver

Jorene Ypanto Nicolas, 29, from San Diego was sentenced in the death of another motorist after she rammed her car into the back of another car at 80 miles per hour.

Apparently, Nicolas was driving her Toyota Prius on the northbound 405 in Fountain Valley when traffic stopped ahead of her. Nicolas was distracted and did not notice the flow of traffic had halted. She slammed into the back of a Hyundai sedan driven by a 23-year-old softball star named Deanna Mauer.

According to authorities, it’s not clear if Nicolas was using her phone before the accident, but she was clearly distracted or she would have noticed the traffic flow, which had been stopped for a few seconds.

She was charged with vehicular manslaughter and could face six years in prison if she is convicted.

Nicolas only suffered a few scrapes in the accident.

According to witnesses, Mauer’s car had just started moving in the traffic when it was struck. Her car was pushed into the car in front of her before it spun and crashed into the center divider.

Nicolas’ car also crashed into the center median.

Authorities say Mauer was wearing her seatbelt at the time of crash. She was transported to a medical center where she was pronounced dead from a brain death caused by a vertebral artery transection.

Mauer was a high school and college softball star. She played for Central Arizona College before she transferred to San Jose State. She competed in the World University games in Bangkok, Thailand.

After she graduated, she worked as an assistant softball coach at her high school in Orange County and at a Whole Foods in Huntington Beach.

She spoke with her parents on the phone just before the accident.

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