Dana Point Woman Wrongly Accused in Hit and Run Death, Attorney Claims

A driver whose blood-alcohol level was nearly four times above the legal limit ran over and killed a 76-year-old woman who was going with her grandson to see Fourth of July fireworks in San Clemente two years ago, a prosecutor told jurors today.

An attorney for Kelly Michele Wolfe of Dana Point countered that his 47- year-old client was not behind the wheel of the Volkswagen van that struck Marthann Demchuk of Monrovia.

Wolfe is charged with second-degree murder, driving under the influence of alcohol, and driving with a blood-alcohol level more than the legal limit of .08 percent or more causing injury, all felonies. She is also charged with a misdemeanor count of driving without a license.

Wolfe faces the upgraded charge of second-degree murder because she was convicted of drunken driving in Nevada in 1994, and in 2008, when applying for a new driver’s license, was warned that if she were involved in a deadly DUI accident that she could be charged with murder, Senior Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Walker said.

The victim was walking in a bike lane on El Camino Real just south of Camino Capistrano with her 12-year-old grandson about 8:30 p.m. on July 4, 2013, when she was struck by a van, Walker said. The boy suffered minor injuries in the collision, the prosecutor said.

Demchuk and her grandson frequently took walks together, with her using a cane and the boy holding on to one arm to help steady her, the prosecutor said.

Demchuk’s family had a home at the time in the Palm Beach Park neighborhood of the city, where they enjoyed staying weekends during the summer, Walker said.

After the victim was struck by the van, the driver kept going and turned right at the next traffic light, Walker said. Witnesses saw the driver get out and go into a residence nearby, she said.

When police questioned Wolfe, she had glass in her hair and purse, and the van’s mirror was found at the scene of the collision, Walker said.

A woman who was waiting by the roadside in her wheelchair to watch the fireworks show is expected to testify that she thought the vehicle was going to hit her, Walker said.

“Then she heard a thud and saw her husband running to help,” the prosecutor said.

A bartender at Knuckleheads, a sports bar in San Clemente, is expected to testify that the defendant was drinking right before the collision, Walker said.

Wolfe’s attorney, Louis Pilato, said his client had a “shot and a beer” at the bar and “seemed fine.”

“The people are not going to be able to prove my client was the driver,” Pilato said, suggesting someone else was behind the wheel of the vehicle at the time.

When Wolfe got home, she started drinking, which explains why her blood- alcohol level was about .31 when police tested her, Pilato said.

The defense attorney also noted it was getting dark at the time of the collision, and the victim and her grandson were crossing the road in a spot where there was no crosswalk. The speed limit, he said, was 50 mph.

“Listen carefully to the evidence because it’s not as open and shut as the people would like you to believe,” Pilato said.

City News Service