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ASan Diego County officialpleaded not guilty to charges shekilled a bride-to-bein a tragic hit—and—run, telling officers she was distraught over the San Diego mosque shooting after the crash.
At her arraignment Monday on vehicular manslaughter charges, prosecutors revealed that Assmaa Elayyat told investigators she was upset over the mass shooting at the Islamic Center of San Diego when she allegedly drove her car into a bus stop and killed a 27-year-old woman, theSan Diego Union-Tribunereported.
The victim, Katie Osorio, 27, was transported to a nearby hospital where she later died from her injuries,ABC10 Newsreported.
An attorney for Elayyat, who’s a deputy director with the San Diego County Health and Human Services Agency, told the court that his client was dealing with “stress and emotions” from thehorrific killings on May 18, the same day of the crash.
Elayyat allegedly hit the bus stop so hard that her car got stuck in a tree behind the stop.
San Diego County District Deputy Attorney Hailey Williams told the court that Elayyat worked to free her vehicle from the tree before nearly running over Osorio a second time and fleeing.
“The defendant knew that she struck something and even pulled over after the collision to confirm that there was extensive damage to her car, according to her statement to investigators,” Williams said.
“But she decided that she needed to get herself home to safety rather than return to the scene or take responsibility for her actions.”
Prosecutors said police managed to track the county official down with the use of license plate readers. When officers approached Elayyat, she allegedly tried to avoid police by driving in the opposite direction before surrendering.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
