By Khalida Sarwari
A 38-year-old woman involved in alleged drunken driving crash that killed two people on state Highway 1 in unincorporated Santa Cruz County over the weekend pleaded not guilty in court this morning to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter, according to the district attorney’s office.
Sherri Chinn is suspected of causing the crash that killed 54-year-old Scotts Valley resident Jose Barrientos and a 56-year-old man from Watsonville in a crash shortly before 2 p.m. Sunday on Highway 1 at Scaroni Road.
According to CHP Officer Sarah Jackson, Chinn was driving a Honda Odyssey south on the highway when she veered into the northbound lane and rammed into Barrientos’ Harley Davison. Chinn then collided head-on with a black BMW driven by Barrientos’ 27-year-old wife. She suffered minor injuries and their 7-month-old daughter was fastened in a safety seat and was uninjured, Jackson said.
Barrientos was pronounced dead on the highway.
A front-seat passenger in Chinn’s Honda succumbed to his injuries around 3:45 a.m. Tuesday.
A third passenger in the Honda, a 55-year-old man, suffered major injuries and is recovering at the Valley Medical Center.
Chinn was arrested with a 0.24 blood-alcohol content.
In addition to being charged with two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, Chinn also faces two counts of driving under the influence, causing great bodily injury and one count of driving with a suspended license, according to Assistant District Attorney Barbara Rizzieri
Rizzieri said Chinn has two prior DUI convictions.
She is being held in custody on a $100,000 bail and could face 15 years to life in prison.
She is due back in court for a preliminary hearing on Nov. 19.