MURRIETA - A probationer whose drunken driving triggered a two-car crash near Lake Elsinore that killed an 18-year-old woman is slated to be sentenced today at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.

Theresa Jean Estes, 53, pleaded guilty on Dec. 12 to DUI gross vehicular manslaughter for the death five days before of Lake Elsinore resident Ashleigh Brooks.

The defense made the plea directly to Riverside County Superior Court Judge Michael Rushton, without negotiating with the District Attorney's Office. Rushton today could impose a sentence of up to 25 years to life in prison.

Estes is being held without bail at the Smith Correctional Facility in Banning.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the defendant was drunk while behind the wheel of her 2004 Nissan Sentra as she drove south on Spring Street toward state Route 74 on the afternoon of Dec. 7.

Estes attempted to make a left Advertisement

[ Metalography ] turn onto the highway around 4:40 p.m. that day and failed to yield to Brooks' 1997 Honda Civic going eastbound, CHP Officer Nathan Baer said.

Brooks swerved to avoid a collision but clipped the front end of Estes' vehicle, causing the victim's Honda to veer into oncoming traffic and collide head-on with a Ford pickup truck, Baer said.

Brooks suffered major physical trauma and died less than 20 minutes later at the scene. The pickup driver walked away with minor injuries.

Estes was slightly injured and was treated at a hospital before being booked into jail. According to court records, the defendant was convicted in 2010 of misdemeanor driving under the influence, resulting in her being sentenced to three years probation.

Her blood-alcohol level at the time of the Dec. 7 wreck was just above the legal limit to operate a motor vehicle, which is .08, records showed.