Authorities say a Lakewood woman has been sentenced to almost 13 years in prison for drunkenly crashing her minivan into two men in Long Beach and then fleeing the scene, leaving one victim dead and the other seriously hurt.
Charlette Anne Colton, 50, of Lakewood, pleaded no contest Wednesday to one count each of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury within 10 years of another DUI, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office.
Immediately after her plea, a judge sentenced her to 12 years and eight months in prison, prosecutors said.
Colton had been charged with murder but pleaded to the lesser count for a March 24 crash that killed a 61-year-old Long Beach man named Bryan Bogan and crushed the legs of a 71-year-old from Torrance, according to authorities.
Police said the men were on Del Amo Boulevard near Locust Avenue standing between a 1996 Honda Accord and a 1996 Mercedes-Benz E320 while removing towing equipment, when Colton’s 2000 Dodge Caravan struck the back of the Accord.
“The Accord was pushed forward, causing it to sideswipe a nearby parked vehicle, before continuing forward and colliding with the two pedestrians and the E320,” according to a police statement.
Colton got out of the minivan and ran from the scene before quickly being arrested nearby, police said.