Following a months-long investigation, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office on Aug. 26 leveled a misdemeanor charge of vehicular manslaughter against the 18-year-old daughter of a Lompoc police officer.
While he wouldn’t discuss specifics of the case, Chief Deputy District Attorney Gordon Auchincloss said prosecutors found enough evidence to charge Lacey Strange, daughter of Lompoc police Sgt. Chuck Strange, in connection with the May 13 death of Lompoc resident Rebecca Vegas.
“With respect to filing charges, our standards are the same in every case,” Auchincloss said. “We look at the penal code, we determine whether there is sufficient cause to file the case, and we make a determination whether we believe we have sufficient facts to go into court and take it to trial.”
Lompoc police said Lacey was driving through downtown Lompoc when she struck Vegas, 56, who was walking in a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Ocean Avenue and J Street. Officers on the scene reported there appeared to be no drugs or alcohol involved, but investigators did look into the possibility Strange might have been distracted by a cell phone at the time of the crash.
Vegas’ family didn’t return calls from the Sun for comment as of press time.
The complaint issued by the DA’s office alleges Strange failed to yield the right of way and killed Vegas “in an unlawful manner, but without gross negligence.” The DA’s determination came after a joint investigation conducted by the California Highway Patrol and the Lompoc Police Department.
Strange is scheduled to appear in Santa Barbara Superior Court in Lompoc for her arraignment on Sept. 14.
This article appears in Sep 1-8, 2011.
