Sandra Arlia, 67 of Morgan Hill, will be sentenced for a vehicular manslaughter conviction Thursday.
Sandra Arlia, 67 of Morgan Hill, will be sentenced for a vehicular manslaughter conviction Thursday.
Arlia was convicted of the misdemeanor by a jury Oct. 21. The jury found that she drove negligently during the traffic accident that killed Rory Tomasello, 22 of Morgan Hill.
The accident happened Oct. 23, 2009 in the middle of a crosswalk on West Edmundson Avenue, just east of the Centennial Recreation Center.
Tomasello was riding his bicycle northbound through the crosswalk when he collided with the Cadillac SUV that Arlia was driving, authorities said. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the collision. He was transported to an area hospital, where he died Nov. 2, 2009 of head injuries.
Arlia faces a maximum sentence of one year in Santa Clara County jail. She will appear at South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill for her sentencing hearing Thursday, according to Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office spokeswoman Lisa McCrary.
The last motorist convicted of vehicular manslaughter in Morgan Hill – Rita Campos – was sentenced to three years of probation. Campos, 61, was found guilty of causing the death of cyclist Bruce Finch, 58 of Gilroy, in a traffic accident at Uvas and Little Uvas roads Oct. 23, 2008.
The crosswalk in which Tomasello was hit connects two segments of a paved pedestrian and bike path that the Santa Clara County Water District owns. In September, the city improved the crosswalk with flashing lights and a crosswalk button on either side of the street.
