Woman who pleaded guilty in fatal DUI Silver Strand crash tells judge she wants to withdraw plea

CHULA VISTA (CNS) – A woman who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder
for driving drunk and causing a head-on crash on the Silver Strand that killed
a 95-year-old man told a judge Tuesday that she wanted to withdraw her plea,
forcing her sentencing to be postponed.

Melanie Rebecca Flores, 50, pleaded guilty in March in connection with
the April 21, 2010, crash near Coronado Cays that took the life of Stevens
Benjamin Friedman.

South Bay Judge Francis Devaney scheduled a June 28 hearing for Flores'
motion to withdraw her guilty plea. If the motion is denied, sentencing is
expected to follow.

Forty-five minutes after the fatal crash, the defendant's blood-alcohol
level was measured at .32 percent — four times the legal limit — according to
Deputy District Attorney Cally Bright.

Flores, who has been jailed since her arrest in June 2010, has three
prior DUIs, according to the prosecution.

Coronado police said Flores drove her vehicle into two others. Friedman,
a Coronado resident, was a front-seat passenger in one of those cars. The
other drivers were injured, but survived.