Jury Acquits Woman in Fatal Car Accident

A Stanton woman was acquitted of vehicular manslaughter and felony drunk driving Tuesday in a case arising out of a six-car accident in Huntington Beach three years ago. The accident resulted in the death of a teen-age girl and injuries to six other people.

The jury, however, found Joan Wilkoff, 42, guilty of misdemeanor drunk driving. She could get up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine when sentenced Jan. 30, 1987. But because she is a first-time offender, she is not expected to receive more than a fine. If convicted on the felony charges, she could have been sent to prison for more than three years.

The verdict was no surprise to Superior Court Judge Phillip E. Cox, who said later that he believed the prosecution’s case against Wilkoff was weak.

But it brought a harsh reaction from several spectators in the courtroom. Wilkoff hurried down the hallway with family and friends as several of them shouted at her that they considered the verdict unjust.

Deputy Public Defender William G. Kelley said he was called “a liar” and “slime” in the hallway by some of the spectators.

Kelley also said that one of the jurors ended up arguing with some of the spectators and that the juror chastised them for not understanding the evidence.

Feels Sorry for Client

“I don’t mind for myself, but I’m sorry that Joan was subjected to that,” Kelley said. “Obviously these people don’t know much about the judicial process.”

Wilkoff was accused of trying to pass a car by going off the right shoulder on Pacific Coast Highway on Aug. 18, 1983. By cutting back on the road too quickly, prosecutors claim, she caused an accident that led to the death of Michelle Salle, 17, who was driving the car in front of her. The chain-reaction crash that followed injured six others.

Wilkoff was stopped at Huntington Beach State Park by a motorist who had been driving behind her. Her blood-alcohol content was tested by police at .19%, almost double the minimum amount needed to be declared legally under the influence.

Wilkoff claimed that she was forced off the road and was not responsible for the accident. She did not testify, but Kelley said she maintains that she was unaware of what had happened when she left the scene.

Wilkoff’s trial was delayed for two years while the state Supreme Court considered the original charges against her, which included one count of felony drunk driving for each of the six people injured. The Supreme Court eventually ruled that she could be charged with only one count of felony drunk driving.

Judge Cox declared a mistrial at Wilkoff’s first trial after jurors split 7 to 5 in favor of convicting her of vehicular manslaughter and felony drunk driving. The jury did convict her of a misdemeanor count of hit-and-run driving.

‘What It Should Be’

“It’s now just a simple drunk-driving case, and from the evidence I saw presented in court, that’s probably what it should be,” the judge said.

Cox said that eyewitnesses gave conflicting testimony and that a prosecution expert called in to re-create the accident made a poor witness. The defense had its own expert at both trials who said Wilkoff could not have caused the accident.

Wilkoff said before the jury verdict that she had sympathy for the victim’s family but that she was not responsible for what happened.