Kalehue
April 5th, 2009, 04:23 PM
http://media.redding.com/redd/content/img/photos/2008/02/12/MATISENGLEDe.jpg
A Shingletown woman accused of vehicle manslaughter stemming from a fiery fatal crash in August was text-messaging on her cell phone when she plowed into a line of cars waiting at a construction site, court records allege.
Deborah Matis-Engle, 48, pleaded not guilty Monday to manslaughter charges in Shasta County Superior Court, said Shasta County Deputy District Attorney Stew Jankowitz.
She was assigned a public defender and a hearing date was set for later this month to further discuss the case, Jankowitz said.
In a California Highway Patrol report released after Matis-Engle's arraignment, CHP officer J.F. Polen wrote that Matis-Engle consented to have her cell phone seized two days after the Aug. 13 crash.
Phone company records showed that she was texting when she crashed at 66 mph into a line of cars on Highway 44 near Dersch Road, Polen wrote.
"I feel that gross negligence should be considered in this case," Polen wrote. "Matis-Engle lives in the Shingletown area and drives this roadway every day. (She) had knowledge that the one-way traffic control was in place for the past month."
Although several cars were damaged in the wreck, Matis-Engle's vehicle struck 46-year-old Petra Monika Winn's car hardest, CHP spokesman Kurt Heuer has said.
The vehicle burst into flames and rescue crews were unable to pull her from the wreckage before the fire claimed her life, Heuer said.
http://www.redding.com/news/2008/feb/12/records-say-woman-texting-before-crash/
A woman who slammed into a line of vehicles while text messaging on her cell phone was sentenced to six years in prison for killing a woman whose car was rear-ended and exploded in flames.
Investigators said Deborah Matis-Engle was speeding and text messaging when she slammed into vehicles stopped at a construction zone on Aug. 13, 2007.
Shasta County prosecutor Stephanie Bridgett said the 49-year-old had paid several bills by cell phone in the moments before the crash. She was in the middle of one of those transactions when she hit 46-year-old Petra Winn's car, killing her.
Matis-Engle's attorney, Jeffrey Stotter, said he will appeal her vehicular manslaughter conviction and the sentence she received Friday.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12073742
A Shingletown woman accused of vehicle manslaughter stemming from a fiery fatal crash in August was text-messaging on her cell phone when she plowed into a line of cars waiting at a construction site, court records allege.
Deborah Matis-Engle, 48, pleaded not guilty Monday to manslaughter charges in Shasta County Superior Court, said Shasta County Deputy District Attorney Stew Jankowitz.
She was assigned a public defender and a hearing date was set for later this month to further discuss the case, Jankowitz said.
In a California Highway Patrol report released after Matis-Engle's arraignment, CHP officer J.F. Polen wrote that Matis-Engle consented to have her cell phone seized two days after the Aug. 13 crash.
Phone company records showed that she was texting when she crashed at 66 mph into a line of cars on Highway 44 near Dersch Road, Polen wrote.
"I feel that gross negligence should be considered in this case," Polen wrote. "Matis-Engle lives in the Shingletown area and drives this roadway every day. (She) had knowledge that the one-way traffic control was in place for the past month."
Although several cars were damaged in the wreck, Matis-Engle's vehicle struck 46-year-old Petra Monika Winn's car hardest, CHP spokesman Kurt Heuer has said.
The vehicle burst into flames and rescue crews were unable to pull her from the wreckage before the fire claimed her life, Heuer said.
http://www.redding.com/news/2008/feb/12/records-say-woman-texting-before-crash/
A woman who slammed into a line of vehicles while text messaging on her cell phone was sentenced to six years in prison for killing a woman whose car was rear-ended and exploded in flames.
Investigators said Deborah Matis-Engle was speeding and text messaging when she slammed into vehicles stopped at a construction zone on Aug. 13, 2007.
Shasta County prosecutor Stephanie Bridgett said the 49-year-old had paid several bills by cell phone in the moments before the crash. She was in the middle of one of those transactions when she hit 46-year-old Petra Winn's car, killing her.
Matis-Engle's attorney, Jeffrey Stotter, said he will appeal her vehicular manslaughter conviction and the sentence she received Friday.
http://www.mercurynews.com/breakingnews/ci_12073742