Former EMT convicted of killing young woman while driving drunk

RIVERSIDE - A former ambulance driver who killed a college student in an alcohol-fueled head-on crash was convicted today of gross vehicular manslaughter.

Elva Diaz, 32, could face 10 years in prison when she's sentenced by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson on Aug. 5.

Diaz was at the wheel of a pickup truck that slammed into a sedan driven by 18-year-old Rachel Amaris Elliott of Irvine on Feb. 20, 2008.

"Nothing can bring Rachel back," the young woman's mother, Jill, said tearfully outside the courtroom. "I don't think you can ever have closure when your daughter is violently killed."

Jurors spent about a day deliberating before finding Diaz guilty of the manslaughter count. The panel could have convicted her of second-degree murder, which would have carried a minimum 15 years to life prison term.

"We're disappointed that the jury didn't go with the murder conviction, but we respect their decision," said Rachel's father, Steve Elliott. "We're at peace with letting the justice system work."

He, his wife and Rachel's brother, Erik, remembered the 18-year-old UC Irvine student as "vivacious and affectionate."

"Everyone used to say she lit up a room when she walked in," Jill Elliott said. "She was very loving and had a great sense of humor."

Johnson ordered Diaz held without bail until the sentencing hearing. She was being held in lieu of $5 million bail at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside.

According to testimony from her approximately week-long trial, the defendant had spent hours drinking with her boyfriend and other associates at Sportsman's Bar on Temescal Canyon Road in Corona before taking off in her truck and heading south on Knabe Road.

Placentia police Detective Zachary Palumbo, who was dating Diaz at the time, testified that both he and the defendant were under the influence and that he tried to dissuade her from driving away, but she refused to listen.

The lawman opted not to exercise his authority and attempt to physically stop her from leaving the parking lot that night. He walked home.

Diaz traveled less than a mile on Knabe before crashing into Elliott's vehicle. According to the District Attorney's Office, Diaz crossed into opposing traffic near Claystone Avenue and ran straight into the victim at a high rate of speed.

Elliott died hours later at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar. Diaz suffered minor injuries.

Liverpool students present dangers of drunk driving : News ...

CICERO -- Liverpool High School students and parents turned out in Cicero on Wednesday to see how one student's death continues to affect the community.

Victoria Deverso, 17, was  killed in a drunk-driving crash  more than a year ago. She was a passenger in her friend's car. Chelsea Kuss  admitted to drinking Four Loko  before getting behind the wheel. She tried to pass another car on Route 31 in Bridgeport when she slammed into a minivan.  Peggy Blume was the driver of the minivan  and was seriously hurt.

On Wednesday, students showed a video, portraying Deverso with friends. It served as a reminder of the dangers of getting in the car with someone who has been drinking.

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