A Lyon County woman pleaded guilty this week in Yerington District Court to charges she was high on methamphetamine when she drove the wrong way on Highway 50 East in Stagecoach and struck another car head-on, killing one and injuring another.
In exchange for guilty pleas to two charges - felony driving under the influence of drugs, causing death; and driving under the influence of drugs, causing substantial bodily harm - two lesser charges of reckless driving were dismissed.
Jessica Sanchez, 37, was driving west on Jan. 28 in the eastbound lanes of Highway 50 East in Stagecoach, 7 miles east of Dayton, when she struck an eastbound Ford Tempo, killing passenger Carole Marie Ernst Caron, 51, of Silver Springs, and critically injuring driver Cindy Leon, 32, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.
According to court documents, a toxicology report indicated Sanchez had 670 nanograms of methamphetamine in her system at the time of the accident.
Under Nevada law, a person is considered impaired when driving if their blood contains 100 nanograms of methamphetamine per milliliter of blood.
Carson City District Attorney Neil Rombardo handled the case for Lyon County because Lyon County prosecutors had prosecuted Caron's husband in an unrelated case.
Sanchez faces two to 20 years on each count when she is sentenced Dec. 12. She remains in custody in the Lyon County Jail.
