North Bay Driver Charged with Felony Manslaughter After Passenger's Death

NORTH BAY, CA -- A Santa Rosa woman was arraigned in Sonoma County Superior Court on the afternoon of Jan. 4 for felony vehicular manslaughter in a crash that killed an 18-year-old woman on New Years Day.

Rebecca Iris Guillory, 19, is expected have a mental competence evaluation before she returns to court Jan. 9 to possibly enter a plea to the felony charge and driving on a suspended license.

Guillory was driving a Chevrolet Cavalier on Mountain Hawk Drive when it crashed into a tree near Branch Owl Place in east Santa Rosa around 11 p.m. The crash killed 18-year-old Michajla Bailey Kostecka who was in the front passenger seat, according to Santa Rosa police.

Citizens tried to help Guillory who was unconscious and trapped in the wrecked Chevrolet. Firefighters freed her and she was treated for minor injuries and released from a local hospital. Kostecka was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said they believe Guillory was under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and she was arrested for DUI causing death or serious bodily injury.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Brian Staebell said Guillory has not yet been charged with DUI or gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Deputy District Attorney Matt Hubley said police officers smelled alcohol at the scene, and Guillory admitted she had smoked hash oil that night. Toxicology test results are pending, Hubley said.

Judge Robert LaForge raised Guillory's $100,000 bail to $250,000 when Hubley said she was a danger to the public and that Guillory's license was suspended because of a prior DUI.

Guillory was caught driving 92 mph in a 65 mph area of Oakland on Halloween, Hubley said. Her blood-alcohol level at the time was 0.29 percent, more than three times the level considered intoxicated, Hubley said after the court hearing.

Friends and family of Kostecka had launched a Go Fund Me page to raise as much as $5,000 online to help pay for her funeral, but as of the afternoon of Jan. 5, the page was down for unknown reasons. Before that, dozens of people had donated a total of $1,675 toward the $5,000 that organizers hope to raise for the funeral.

The GoFundMe page was previously at https://www.gofundme.com/rest-easy-michajla.

Bay City News contributed to this report/Image via Shutterstock