A 27-year-old San Francisco woman who killed two Sonoma County women in a crash that occurred while she was wine tasting pleaded guilty Friday to all charges in an agreement with a judge that she receive no more than seven years in state prison.
Lyndsay Murray-Mazany pleaded guilty to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony drunken driving in the July 18 crash near Geyserville that killed Cloverdale residents Bev Jones and Nancy "Sue" McBride, both 77.
Her lawyer, Chris Andrian, said his client reached a deal with Judge Rene Chouteau that would limit her prison exposure, which had previously been 20 years. Under the agreement, she could be released on probation or receive jail or prison time up to seven years when she is sentenced Dec. 17.
The plea capped an emotional day that brought tears and compassion from the family of the victims, recognition of her crimes by Murray-Mazany, and highlighted the difficulty in weighing the considerations of all parties in meting out a just punishment.
Andrian said Murray-Mazany has no expectations.
He said he hopes her blood-alcohol level - just above the legal limit - and lack of any prior record would be taken into consideration at sentencing.
"She is incredibly remorseful about this," Andrian said. "She wanted to plead guilty on the first day of court."
Murray-Mazany remained free on $200,000 bail. She left the courthouse without making any comment. But she came face-to-face with Bev Jones' son, Bob Jones of Santa Rosa, who was in court Friday, and apologized.
"She broke down and cried and I hugged her," Jones said. "I said nobody wishes any ill against her. The guy she was with started crying, too."
Jones said it was up to the judge to decide Murray-Mazany's sentence. He said the crash was too serious for probation alone. But at the same time, his mother wouldn't want to ruin the life of a "nice, sweet girl who hasn't had any problems in the past."
Still, Jones expected the judge would hand down about a four-year prison sentence.
"It's a sad thing," he said. "Everybody with one or two exceptions knows someone who has driven on a couple drinks. I am not damning this kid for something I have done in my own life."
Jones' sister, Bee Anderson of Santa Rosa, said the possibility that Murray-Mazany could get off with probation was "a little shocking to me."
Like her brother, she said she was impressed with Murray-Mazany's admission of guilt and her clean record.
"But that's where it stops for me," Anderson said. "I'm not a judgmental person, but on the other hand, I lost my mother. And I was really close to my mom."
Prosecutor Robin Hammond said she would present the district attorney's sentencing request at the December hearing, but offered no comment on what that recommendation would be.
Murray-Mazany was the designated driver on a wine-tasting tour in Dry Creek Valley at the time of the crash. She was with her boyfriend and his father, the CHP said.
She was traveling about 45 mph in her SUV on Geyserville Avenue when she crossed into oncoming traffic on a curve and slammed into a Subaru Forester carrying five women, the CHP reported.
The women in the back seat took the brunt of the crash. Jones and McBride were killed on impact. The others were hospitalized with injuries.
Murray-Mazany was tested at the scene and had a blood-alcohol level of 0.10 percent, just over the legal limit of 0.08 percent.
Fatal drunken-driving crashes have made headlines in Sonoma County during the past year. And the courts have struggled over sentencing.
In December, a judge withdrew a 12-year sentence handed down to a Central Valley teenager who killed one person and injured another after a night of drinking. Dylan Morse, the then-19-year-old son of a Merced County prosecutor, received a more than three-year sentence instead. Judge Ken Gnoss cited his youth and lack of a record in his decision.
More recently, Judge Arthur Wick recalled a 13-year sentence given to a Forestville woman who killed a Rohnert Park mother of five while driving intoxicated. Her lawyer said the state average for similar cases in 2008 was about three years in prison. He will consider a new sentence Oct. 27.
Meanwhile, survivors of the Murray-Mazany crash said Friday they were learning to cope with the loss.
Barbara King, 70 of Cloverdale, said she was learning how to walk again after suffering a broken pelvis, a ruptured spleen and broken ribs in the crash.
She said she had been planning a trip this month to New England with Sue McBride, her best friend. Now, she is mostly housebound and wondering how to pay for more than $100,000 in medical expenses.
King said she thought a seven-year maximum seemed low.
"People say, &‘Oh my gosh. Her life is over and she's only 27,'" King, a retired kindergarten teacher, said. "And yet what I've seen and lived through is unbelievable. My friends were vibrant people in the community."
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