Mom charged by Napa County D.A. in suspected DUI crash that killed children
The Brief
The driver is charged with vehicular manslaughter, child abuse and DUI causing injuries.
Bail for the injured driver has been set by a judge at $1.5M.
A GoFundMe for the children's funeral expenses has been set up.
NAPA, Calif. - The Napa County District Attorney has charged the woman suspected of driving under the influence in a crash that killed her two young children over the weekend.
The mom, 31-year-old Yesica Barajas, of Napa, has been charged with two felony counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, a felony count of DUI of alcohol and a drug causing injury and two felony counts of child abuse for the crash that killed her two children.
The district attorney noted additional allegations against Barajas due to the seriousness of the charges she faces and the vulnerability of the victims.
"Barajas additionally faces allegations that the crimes encompassed serious felonies, great bodily injury, bodily injury to more than one victim, vulnerable victims, that she was in position of trust, and that the crimes constitute an increased level of seriousness from her prior crimes," the Napa County District Attorney said in a statement.
Napa County records do show Barajas has a history of traffic violations.
The driver's children were identified by the coroner's office on Monday as 10-year-old Damian Montanez and his 9-year-old sister, Aaliyah Montanez.
Barajas is recovering from her own injuries related to the crash. She was administratively booked into the Napa County Department of Corrections, according to the D.A.'s office. Once she is released from the hospital, she will be taken to jail.
The backstory
The crash happened on Sunday morning at 7:30 a.m. on southbound Highway 29 at the Imola Avenue off-ramp.
A witness told the California Highway Patrol that they saw a black Nissan leave the road and slam into a tree. The witness said the vehicle's airbags went off.
An investigator said the driver was speeding.
What's next
The Napa County deputy district attorney made a court appearance on Tuesday to request the court set Barajas' bail at $2 million. However, a judge provisionally appointed a public defender to represent Barajas and set the bail amount at $1.5 million.
Barajas' next court appearance is set for Friday at 8:30 a.m. in Napa County Superior Court.
Grieving family
A GoFundMe has been set up to help with the children's funeral costs.
"Damian & Aaliyah were sweet, loving, full of life kids who will be missed greatly. They touched everyone they met," the GoFundMe read. "They were always helpful and loved camping in Lake Tahoe, where they often went with their grandparents."
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