(KRON) — A Campbell woman accused of a wrong-way crash on Interstate 280 in 2023 that killed a mother and injured the mother’s son was denied a mental health diversion in the case last week, according to the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office.
Constellatia Martin, who is now 26 years old, pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run causing death, among other charges related to the fatal collision on April 22, 2023, in Woodside.
Last week, on March 28, Judge Susan Jakubowski determined that “while there are treatments that could treat the defendant’s symptoms,” the DA’s office wrote, “the defendant’s past history shows repeated failure to comply with treatment conditions and there was a lack of an adequate treatment plan presented by the defense.” The judge denied the defense’s motion.
Prosecutors said Martin was driving a white 2010 Ford Fusion northbound on the southbound lanes of I-280 at 2:38 p.m. when she collided head-on with a black 2019 BMW SUV being driven by Eden Palmer, 54, of San Francisco, near the Woodside Road exit. Palmer was pronounced deceased at the scene, and her 16-year-old son, who was riding in the backseat, suffered major injuries.
Following the crash, prosecutors said Martin ran off. It was California Highway Patrol officers who found her “naked laying down on a grassy area 150 years away,” according to the DA’s office.
The officers noted her “red and watery eyes, rapid speech and erratic behavior,” prosecutors wrote. The DA’s office said that Martin refused sobriety tests before being arrested, after which a blood sample was taken.
The blood sample showed that Martin had marijuana in her system “but no other drug,” prosecutors wrote.
Martin returned to court on Thursday morning to schedule a date for pretrial. A pretrial conference was set for May 12. Martin remains in jail with no bail.
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