Teen told one officer she was texting at time of fatal Rohnert Park crash

An 18-year-old Sonoma State University freshman told an officer she was text messaging when she struck and killed a 2-year-old child and injured the child's mother as the pair walked in a Snyder Lane crosswalk, court records show.

But Kaitlyn Dunaway also told another officer that she had just received a phone call at the time of the crash, according to an affidavit filed in support of a warrant to obtain Dunaway's cell phone records.

The investigation to determine if either distraction played a role in the fatal crash is nearing completion and detectives said they could turn over material to the district attorney's office as early as Friday, Lt. Jeff Taylor said.

"We should be pretty close," Taylor said, noting that the holidays could extend the completion time to the end of the year. Police do have the cell phone records but Taylor said no information would be released until the investigation is completed into the crash that severely injured Ling Murray and killed her two-year-old daughter Calli.

Ling Murray continues her recovery as she and husband Jeff prepare for a Sunday memorial service for their daughter, Calli Murray, a week before she would have turned 3.

Ling Murray will not be able to leave the hospital to attend the memorial service. But the family plans to broadcast it online so she may take part from her hospital bed, said her step-father-in-law, Al Andres.

Officers were also making arrangements to speak with Ling Murray, Taylor said. She was taken out of a medically induced coma Dec. 9, eight days after the crash, and was still struggling to speak after being on a respirator, her family said.

Prosecutors with the District Attorney's Office will decide what, if any, criminal charges to file against Dunaway.

If Dunaway was using a cell phone, then she could be in violation of driving laws at the time she hit the little girl and her mother.

But whether that would translate into a criminal charge of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter or a more serious felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence will be up to prosecutors.

"It's case by case," said Diana Gomez, assistant district attorney. She declined to discuss the Dunaway investigation as it hasn't been passed to the District Attorney's Office.

But she said in general, prosecutors consider "was the driver negligent to the point of being criminally negligent? That's a factor. What could they see, how could they see it?"

A 23-year-old Santa Rosa man was in court Monday for a hearing on charges of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter without negligence. Orion Swank was 22 when on Jan. 27 he drove a pickup into 15-year-old Michelle Cordova, who was crossing West College Street on her way home. Swank said he didn't see the girl.

A judge set a Feb. 14 settlement conference in the case.

If Dunaway is charged and convicted of a misdemeanor crime, she could be sentenced to up to a year in county jail and probation.

A conviction for felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence carries a sentence of up to six years in state prison and parole.

Murray faces months of surgeries and other procedures, according to her family.

"She's probably not going to be up on her feet for at least two months," said Andres, who flew in from Hartley, Del. after the crash.

Murray was a competitive volleyball player as a youth growing up in China, according to family members, much like Dunaway, who starred as a prep and is a member of Sonoma State's volleyball team.

For the past three years, Murray has played as an outside hitter on a Petaluma recreation volleyball league team, called Apples and Pickles, said her teammate, Krista Gawronski, 40, of Petaluma.

"She is kind of a spitfire," Gawronski said. "She's the first one to dive on the floor and go for balls. She's very competitive, though not loud and obnoxious like the rest of us."

A public memorial service for Calli Murray will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday at Parent-Sorensen Mortuary at 850 Keokuk Street in Petaluma.

A fund to help the Murrays with medical expenses was established at Redwood Credit Union, 250 Rohnert Park Expressway, Rohnert Park, 94928. The Murrays have also opened the Calli Ann Memorial Fund, or CAMF, at Weels Fargo Bank in Rohnert Park.