Los Gatos woman is charged with vehicular manslaughter

By Leigh Ann Maze

A seven-car crash in Campbell on Nov. 3 left a man dead and a Los Gatos woman charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.

According to officer Tom Rogers of the Campbell Police Department, the incident happened at 10:45 a.m., when 37-year-old Jaqueline Kay Ross of Los Gatos approached the intersection of Hamilton Avenue and San Tomas Expressway and rear-ended the vehicle of 79-year-old San Jose resident Earl Cartmill, who was stopped at a red light. The collison sparked a chain-reaction in which five other stopped vehicles were damaged.

Cartmill was taken to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, where he succumbed to his injuries at 2:55 p.m., a coroner's spokesman said. There were no other injuries in the crash. According to Rogers, Ross was arrested at the scene for driving under the influence and booked into the Santa Clara County jail, where she posted bail the next morning.

Based on statements obtained at the scene and damage done to the vehicles involved, police believe that Ross was under the influence of drugs and failed to safely operate her vehicle, Rogers said. Blood samples have been sent to a lab in Oakland and results are expected back this week.

Ross has been charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence. She was scheduled to be arraigned Nov. 16, according to Karen Sininu at the District Attorney's office. The Los Gatos Weekly-Times was unable to reach Ross for comment.

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