West County : Drunk Driver in Fatal Crash Is Fined $600

A Stanton woman acquitted of vehicular manslaughter charges in the death of a teen-age girl but found guilty of two misdemeanors was fined $600 Friday and ordered to enter an alcohol rehabilitation program.

Joan Wilkoff, 42, a secretary, was accused of causing a six-car pileup on Pacific Coast Highway that led to the death of 17-year-old Michelle Salle of Huntington Beach and left six injured.

But a mistrial was declared at her first trial, with jurors split 7-5 in favor of convicting her of vehicular manslaughter. She was acquitted on that charge at a second trial last month. Jurors said later that there had been too many discrepancies among prosecution witnesses about what had happened. The first jury had found Wilkoff guilty of misdemeanor hit-and-run driving, and the second jury found her guilty of misdemeanor drunk driving.

Superior Court Judge Phillip E. Cox said Friday that he gave Wilkoff the same sentence he would give any other first-time drunk driver with a prior conviction. Wilkoff had been convicted of reckless driving in a separate incident earlier. Her sentence also included three years of probation.