The District Attorney’s Office filed charges last Friday against the driver who allegedly hit and killed a woman pushing a baby across the street in Goleta last November. Kincaid Orosco, 18, faces one charge of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter and two felony charges for transportation and possession of marijuana for sale, according to the complaint filed.

Deputy District Attorney Mary Barron said that the District Attorney’s Office is also considering filing an additional count — an infraction, punishable by fine if great bodily injury is found to have occurred — against Orosco for the injuries to the 20-month-old baby boy, who was “recovering well” soon after the accident after being treated at the hospital, according to the Sheriff’s Office.

If found guilty of the vehicular-manslaughter charge, Orosco, a Goleta resident, could be sentenced to one year in County Jail. He could face four years in prison for the drug charges and, because he is under 21, have his license suspended for approximately one year. The complaint states that, with regard to the vehicular-manslaughter charge, Orosco acted “without malice” and “without gross negligence.” Kelly Hoover, the spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office, said that the department “cannot comment on the investigation at this point” but added that Orosco is not in custody.

At around 5:30 p.m. on November 11, Orosco was allegedly driving westbound on Cathedral Oaks Road when he hit Shuguang Lui, 59, who was pushing the baby in the stroller across the street at Santa Marguerita Drive. Lui, a native of Beijing, China, was not the boy’s mother but was related to him, according to the Sheriff’s Office. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Orosco will be arraigned on March 7.

Long-awaited construction to install safety improvements at that intersection — including adding pedestrian-activated lights, removing the dedicated turn lane from westbound Cathedral Oaks to northbound Santa Marguerita, adding curb extensions, and creating a pedestrian median area — began in January. City of Goleta spokesperson Valerie Kushnerov said the project will be complete once Southern California Edison installs an additional light and some striping issues are resolved.

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