An Arcata woman pleaded no contest Friday to felony vehicular manslaughter in exchange for a maximum sentence of two years in prison for driving over a San Mateo County cliff while under the influence of alcohol, resulting in the death of a passenger in her vehicle, prosecutors said.
Madeline St. Pierre, 26, also admitted to two allegations of serious felonies, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
St. Pierre was originally charged with vehicular manslaugter, driving under the influence resulting in injury to another and driving with a BAC of higher than 0.08% resulting in injury to another, each with enhancements for causing great bodily injury, prosecutors said.
San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe and St. Pierre’s defense attorney Lauren Potter did not immediately respond Monday to requests for comment.
At about 10 p.m. on Oct. 12, 2023, St. Pierre was driving a 2021 Kia on Pescadero Creek Road toward Highway 1 “at an unsafe speed,” prosecutors said. St. Pierre drove through a stop sign and into the parking lot of a state beach, where she then crashed into the metal guardrail and went over the edge of a cliff.
St. Pierre’s car landed in the water at the bottom of the 40-foot cliff, prosecutors said.
Emergency response workers responded to the scene after passersby called 911, prosecutors said.
Nicolas Vargas, a 29-year-old resident of Watsonville, had been riding in the back seat. St. Pierre and a female passenger who had been sitting in the front seat attempted to pull Vargas out of the water, prosecutors said.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.
St. Pierre had a fractured tailbone and the female passenger suffered a fractured wrist in the crash, prosecutors added.
Officers who responded to the incident reported that St. Pierre was showing signs of being under the influence and smelled like alcohol, prosecutors added. When her BAC was measured about three hours and 15 minutes after the crash, it was .029 percent, officials said.
The case was continued to Jan. 12 at 9 a.m. for sentencing. St. Pierre remains out of custody on a $50,000 bail bond.