The driver who hit and killed pedestrian Jeanette Hicks on September 21, 2006 at Ocean Park Boulevard and 25th Street has been charged with vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence. The charges were filed by the City Attorney’s office on Tuesday, January 23, against 58-year-old Frank Kalman of Santa Monica.
In the September 21 incident, Ms. Hicks, who lived in the 2600 block of Ocean Park Boulevard, was crossing Ocean Park southbound in a marked crosswalk when Kalman’s car hit her. She was taken to a local hospital and listed in critical condition. Known to her many friends as “Silver” for her beautiful silver/white hair, she never regained consciousness and died.
Mr. Kalman was interviewed at the scene by responding police officers; he was released at that time pending further investigation.
The charges filed on January 23 include violations of Penal Code section 192(c)(3) – vehicular manslaughter without gross negligence, a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than one year; Vehicle Code section 21950(a) – failure to yield to a pedestrian in a crosswalk; and Vehicle Code section 22350 – the basic speed law, driving “at a speed greater than is reasonable or prudent…and in no event at a speed which endangers the safety of persons or property.”
