Driver Faces Manslaughter Charge in Passenger’s Death
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SAN FERNANDO — A 24-year-old man with a history of speeding was charged Tuesday with felony manslaughter in a Jan. 2 accident that killed a passenger in his car.
Todd Lawrence Olson of San Fernando was traveling on Balboa Boulevard when he swerved to miss a car he thought was going to turn in front of him at Lassen Street, LAPD Valley Traffic Det. Ralph Kemptner said. Olson’s car skidded on wet streets and hit a light pole. Killed in the accident was Julia Dawn Soklow, 23, of Granada Hills.
The charges were not based solely on the facts of the accident--Olson was believed to be traveling between 50 and 60 mph in a 35-mph zone in the rain--but also on his traffic history, Kemptner said.
Olson had been ticketed eight times in less than two years for speeding, and his license had been suspended numerous times, authorities said. He was driving with a suspended license at the time.
“This guy’s Ricky Racer,” Kemptner said. “I got a few speeding tickets when I was young but nothing like this.”
Olson turned himself in to authorities Tuesday morning and was released on $50,000 bail.
If convicted on the charges, he faces a maximum of six years in state prison.
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