Felony charges filed against driver in fatal Geyserville crash

<p>A San Francisco woman, designated the sober driver for her group during a day of wine tasting, was legally drunk at the time of a crash that killed two Cloverdale women, authorities said Tuesday.</p><p>Prosecutors have filed manslaughter charges against Lyndsay Murray-Mazany, 27, of San Francisco. She had a blood-alcohol level of .10 at the time of the collision, said Assistant District Attorney Diana Gomez.</p><p>Murray-Mazany was released from Sonoma County Jail Tuesday morning after meeting the $100,000 bail requirement. She is to be arraigned on the charges Friday.</p><p>Cloverdale residents Bev Jones and Sue McBride, both 77, died in the Sunday afternoon crash. The two close friends were riding with three others when their car was hit by Mazany's SUV at about 5:30 p.m. on Geyserville Avenue.</p><p>The five had been to a play in Santa Rosa and were on their way to dinner in Geyserville. The survivors were hospitalized. On Tuesday, Katherine Hinzman, 56, the driver, remained at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital in fair condition. Barbara King, 70, was transferred Tuesday to Kaiser Medical Center. Her condition wasn't available.</p><p>Alice Sheperla, 82, was no longer at Memorial and the hospital could not provide information on whether she had been transferred or sent home.</p><p>CHP investigators on Tuesday were continuing their attempt to retrace the activities of the wine tasters.</p><p>Statements given to officers indicated Murray-Mazany had been designated driver for the day, said CHP Officer Jon Sloat. The group had come up Sunday from the Bay Area. She was with Bayardo Alvarado, 32, of Novato, her boyfriend Joaquin Casanueva, 33, of San Francisco and his father, Emilio Casanueva, 70, of Santa Barbara, the CHP said.</p><p>An initial report indicated Murray-Mazany told officers they'd been tasting at wineries on Dry Creek Road and in Geyserville.</p><p>The blood-alcohol test at the scene of the crash showed a .10 level. “That's not high, but still over the limit (of .08), said prosecutor Gomez.</p><p>Murray—Mazany was driving 45 mph on Geyserville Avenue as she approached a sharp curve as it turns toward the Highway 101 overpass, Sloat said. </p><p>Before the curve, a large yellow sign recommends 15 mph. She apparently didn't slow down.</p><p>Her SUV went straight into the turn and into the opposite lane, causing a broadside collision with the women's Subaru Forester, Sloat said.</p><p>The three women in the back seat, Jones, McBride and King, took the brunt of the crash.</p><p>About 30 minutes after the collision a second test at Healdsburg District Hospital showed Murray-Mazany had a .0909 blood-alcohol level, Gomez said.</p><p>Prosecutors have filed four felony charges against the woman, two counts of manslaughter and two counts of drunken driving. The manslaughter counts each have four enhancements for causing great bodily injuries. Two of those included having caused great bodily injuries to someone over the age of 70.</p><p>Gomez said if convicted of all the charges filed, a person could be sentenced to about 20 years in prison.</p><p>Murray-Mazany was scheduled to appear at 8:30 a.m. Friday before Superior Court Judge Rene Chouteau.</p><p>Public records indicated Murray-Mazany moved last summer to San Francisco from Kansas.</p>