If found guilty, she could be sentenced to a maximum of four years.
Both suspects are in County Jail. Ms. Samayoa was booked shortly after the crash last Wednesday afternoon on National Boulevard, near Wesley Street, in the Hayden Tract.
Mr. Cruz, who reportedly attempted to flee in the opposite direction of his girlfriend, surrendered later on Wednesday, police said.
Mr. Cruz’s bail has been raised from $400,000 to $1 million. Ms. Samayoa’s bail has been lowered from $400,000 to $50,000.
An Argument at the Root
Culver City police believe Mr. Cruz was having a furious argument with his girlfriend, which, they say, led directly to the fatal wreck.
In filing the charges, the District Attorney’s office said that at a point Mr. Cruz became so angry that he allegedly lunged in anger toward either the steering wheel or the driver.
Suddenly, the car knifed toward a crowded sidewalk on normally busy National, slamming into Carrie Phillips, a physical education teacher. She apparently was killed instantly as she escorted students back to campus from an outing. Eight students were injured, none reported seriously hurt.
Even though Mr. Cruz was not operating the car, law enforcement officials are convinced that he solely is at fault for turning the car into a murder missile.
Sandi Gibbons, chief spokesperson for the District Attorney’s office, told thefrontpageonline.com that Culver City detectives still are seeking to determine whether Mr. Cruz reached for the wheel or for his girlfriend.
“This kind of murder charge (second-degree),” she said, “can be made in a case where there was a deliberate act with consequences dangerous to human life.
“We are alleging that the passenger knew (the situation) was dangerous. But he showed a conscious disregard for human life.”
Second-degree murder means the District Attorney does not believe the act was premeditated.
Police spokesman Lt. Dean Williams said that “our evidence supports the belief that this was more of an intentional act.”
At 2:50 last Wednesday, an ongoing argument between the couple led to the car charging into the large cluster of students and teachers who were returning from an evidently regular and routine outing to nearby Syd Kronenthal Park.
Although numerous details remain to be disclosed, police do not believe any of the victims saw or heard the car slamming toward them.
As police reconstructed the death scene, one un-named teacher was in front and Ms. Phillips was at the rear of the queue. The fifteen students were walking north along a sidewalk on the east side of the heavily traveled street.
Postscript
In the tragic afterglow of the accident, city officials were reported to have met last Saturday with a group of upset citizens. The residents were said to have complained about the dangers of speeding cars along broad National Boulevard. However, Lt. Williams said that of the twelve reported accidents in that area of the Hayden Tract in the last six years, only one was speed related.