A Campbell woman pleaded no contest Friday to felony vehicular manslaughter for driving the wrong way on Highway 280 and causing a head-on collision that killed a 54-year-old woman and injured her 16-year-old son, prosecutors said.
Constellatia Martin, 26, also pleaded no contest to felony reckless driving with an enhancement for great bodily injury in exchange for a maximum sentence of nine years and eight months in prison, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office. The vehicular manslaughter charge also has a hit-and-run enhancement.
On the afternoon of April 22, 2023, Martin entered southbound Highway 280 in a northbound direction in her Ford Fusion, prosecutors said. Just north of the exit at Woodside Road, Martin struck a BMW head-on, killing driver Eden Palmer of San Francisco and injuring her son.
Palmer had been driving her son to a soccer match on the Peninsula at the time of the collision, which also killed the family’s dog. Palmer’s son sustained major injuries in the crash that will require life-long medical needs.
Martin fled the scene of the collision, prosecutors said. Police located her 150 yards away, laying naked on the grass.
Martin screamed “numerous bizarre statements,” and she had red, watery eyes and rapid speech, prosecutors added. Martin refused to answer questions asked by officers.
Martin refused to allow officers to examine whether she was under the influence of drugs, and she declined sobriety tests, prosecutors said.
After she was arrested, Martin was given a blood test that showed evidence of marijuana use in her bloodstream but no other drugs, prosecutors said.
In March, a judge denied a motion for mental health diversion on the grounds that while there were treatments that could help Martin’s symptoms, she had previously repeatedly failed to follow through with treatment, prosecutors said. The judge also found that the defense did not show an adequate treatment plan for Martin.
Martin remains in custody with no bail. She will next appear in court Dec. 17 for the imposition of sentence.