Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
KEARNS — A Kearns woman has now been charged with murder and accused of killing a 5-year-old girl while driving impaired and trying to pass another vehicle.
Charmayne Huerta-Guzman, 25, was originally charged with manslaughter, a second-degree felony, but the charges were amended and upgraded last week to murder, a first-degree felony. She is also charged with negligently operating a vehicle resulting in serious injury, a third-degree felony; two counts of negligently operating a vehicle resulting in injury, a class A misdemeanor; reckless driving, a class B misdemeanor; driving on a denied license, a class C misdemeanor; and four traffic infractions including passing another vehicle illegally and speeding.
On Jan. 14, Huerta-Guzman was driving an estimated 77 mph in a 35-mph zone in her Kia Sorento near 4800 West and 5200 South on a wet road when she "was observed passing another vehicle on a blind corner, and in a no passing zone," according to charging documents.
Huerta-Guzman, who had a "'donut' spare tire" on the front passenger side of her car, "failed to maintain control of her vehicle and entered the northbound lane," where she struck a Volkswagen Jetta "in a 60% overlap head-on collision," the charges state.
A father, his 5-year-old daughter and his 7-year-old son who were in the Volkswagen were all taken to a local hospital. The girl, Lennyn Lillic, suffered a traumatic brain injury and skull fractures, and succumbed to her injuries about a week later.
When questioned, Huerta-Guzman told police she and her passenger "were drinking and headed home." When asked how much she had to drink, Huerta-Guzman responded, "Too much," according to the charges.
Witnesses also told officers they saw the passenger "removing bottles from the vehicle after the accident and hiding them in the bushes behind the church located on the west side of the street," the charges state, adding that "an empty 40-oz bottle and an empty 12-oz bottle of alcohol" were located.
Huerta-Guzman's blood-alcohol level was measured at 0.241%, or nearly five times the legal limit. Prosecutors say she has previously been convicted of impaired driving and was driving on a denied license and without insurance at the time of the crash.
