SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A college nursing student who fatally struck a man with her vehicle on a freeway offramp in Rancho Penasquitos and fled pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony hit-and-run causing death.
Nicoll Koval, 23, faces up to four years in state prison, when she is sentenced June 3 by Judge Theodore Weathers. On the lenient end, she could be given probation.
Witnesses saw Albert Holman walking along the edge of state Route 56 just east of the Black Mountain Road offramp sometime after 1 a.m. on Oct. 19, said Deputy District Attorney John Pro.
Holman, who had been celebrating his 34th birthday with his sister, had left his car with two flat tires nearby, the prosecutor said.
Sometime between 2:30 a.m. and 3 a.m., another driver had to swerve to avoid hitting Holman's body, Pro said. The body was mangled almost beyond recognition when officers arrived about 3:30 a.m., he said.
He said a license-plate holder for a Nissan was found at the accident scene, and that Koval contacted police the next day.
Officers went to her home, about two minutes away from the crash site, and found a 2008 Nissan Sentra with significant front-end damage and a damaged windshield.
One of the victim's shoes was found in the undercarriage of Koval's car, Pro added.
"She did not stop," the prosecutor said earlier. "It is our opinion that she, in fact, should have stopped. Not stopping is a crime."
Defense attorney Michael McGlinn said Koval, a student at Cal State San Marcos, surrendered when she realized she was involved in a fatal accident on her way home.
"She did not know what she had hit," McGlinn said at Koval's arraignment.
