VENTURA : Boy, 16, Faces Trial in Death of Jogger
A 16-year-old boy pleaded not guilty Friday to charges of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of a drug in connection with the death last year of a Ventura woman who was struck by a car while jogging near her home.
The youth, whose name is being withheld because of his age, is scheduled for trial June 21 in juvenile court, Deputy Dist. Atty. Richard E. Holmes said. Until then, the boy has been released to the custody of his parents, Holmes said.
Prosecutors said the boy inhaled a gas that affects the central nervous system before striking Linda Gabrielson, 52, on Dec. 16 in the Ondulando area of Ventura. Gabrielson, who was jogging along Via Arroyo at Longridge Court at 1:30 p.m. when she was struck, died of multiple injuries.
Police said the boy fled the scene but was arrested about a quarter-mile away.
Prosecutors have refused to identify the gas the boy inhaled because its effect on the central nervous system is not well known and they do not want to encourage its use by other teen-agers.
In early reports of the incident, the gas was identified as nitrous oxide, but prosecutors say those reports were wrong.
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