Teen Charged in Car Crash That Killed 2 Friends

An Oxnard College student has been charged with vehicular manslaughter stemming from a crash last year in which two of her friends were killed as the trio drove to a friend’s high school graduation ceremony in Ventura.

A trial has been scheduled for May 29 in Ventura County Superior Court for Sopheak “Sophie” Riem, 19, the driver in the June 11 crash on the Ventura Freeway, authorities said Wednesday.

“This has irrevocably changed her life,” said Deputy Public Defender Leslie Daniels, Riem’s attorney. “These were her friends. She was close to them and she was driving, and she lived and they didn’t. She is devastated.”

After investigating the crash for several months, prosecutors decided to charge Riem with two counts of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter. If convicted, she faces a maximum two years in County Jail.

At issue is whether Riem was speeding at the time of the crash--possibly as fast as 80 mph--and whether she made an unsafe lane change that could have caused her to lose control of her car.

At least one witness has told authorities Riem may have swerved to miss debris in the roadway before her car careened off the freeway, Daniels said. That claim remains under investigation, Daniels added.

Riem, who lives with her parents in Oxnard, has pleaded not guilty and is free on recognizance. Daniels said Riem was knocked unconscious in the crash and has little recollection of what occurred.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Anita Patel declined to comment on the specifics of the case except to say “we thought after reading the police reports there was sufficient evidence to show a crime was committed.”

Riem could not be reached for comment.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Riem and her friends were running an hour late en route to watch another friend graduate from high school in a ceremony at Ventura College.

Riem lost control of her car at the Johnson Drive overpass, and the vehicle careened 60 feet off the roadway, authorities said. Ana Rosa Uribe, 17, an independent study student at El Camino High in Ventura, was in the back seat when the car landed upside-down on railroad tracks, killing her.

The other passenger, Lea Casillas, 16, a member of Buena High’s softball team, died the same day at a local hospital from skull fractures and other internal injuries. Casillas’ family has filed a lawsuit against the California Department of Transportation, alleging the agency failed to properly maintain both the roadway and guardrail.

Daniels said Riem received a broken collar bone and punctured a lung in the crash.

All three were wearing seat belts and authorities found no evidence of alcohol or drugs.