CHULA VISTA, Calif. – The woman suspected of driving under the influence in a collision that killed two pedestrians in National City faced a judge Friday on suspicion of manslaughter and DUI.
Tayishe Baltys plead not guilty to two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and two counts of DUI when she appeared in court Friday afternoon.
The crash happened Wednesday, June 22, around 10:30 p.m. in the 3100 block of East Plaza Boulevard when 39-year-old Brian McKee and 15-year-old Jessica “Lola” Talamante, who were walking home from a nearby 7-Eleven, were struck and killed.
According to the District Attorney’s Office, Baltys had just recently completed probation for a DUI charge she had received in 2020.
“She was charged with DUI from an incident in 2020 – she plead guilty to a lesser offense called a wet reckless and she was put on probation for one year,” said Blair Pickus, deputy district attorney.
Kristen White, Lola’s mother and Brian’s girlfriend, was in the courtroom Friday, hearing the details of the case. White said that she believes the woman needs to be charged with murder.
“This is murder, this is not manslaughter,” said Kristen White.
The father of the 15-year-old girl also spoke out, “she not only killed one person, she killed a little girl that had her whole life ahead of her,” said David Talamante.
The court denied Baltys bail during Friday’s hearing. The woman will next have a bail review hearing July 8.