Corona, CA: Jury Picked for Trial of Former Ambulance Driver Accused in Fatal Fatal DUI

A jury was seated today for the trial of a former ambulance driver accused of causing the death of an 18-year-old college student by driving drunk and going the wrong way on a four-lane road.

Elva Diaz, 32, of Corona could face 15 years to life in prison if convicted of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter and driving with a suspended license while under the influence -- a misdemeanor -- in the Feb. 21, 2008, death of Rachel Amaris Elliott of Irvine.

More than 100 prospective jurors were screened Monday, Tuesday and today, with a panel being seated this afternoon by Riverside County Superior Court Judge Mark Johnson. He scheduled opening statements for tomorrow at 9 a.m.

Diaz, who remains in custody at the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside in lieu of $5 million bail, was a fugitive for more than a year. She was located by authorities last August in Santa Cruz De Camotian, near Guadalajara, Mexico.

Prosecutors allege the former ambulance driver and emergency medical technician had been drinking at a bar in the hours prior to the fatal head-on collision on Knabe Road in Corona and was told by her boyfriend and other patrons not to drive, which she disregarded.

The defendant traveled onto Knabe Road and was headed south in the northbound lanes, speeding toward Claystone Avenue, when her car slammed into Elliott's, district attorney's spokesman John Hall said.

The young woman died hours later at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar.

Diaz posted a $75,000 bond after her arrest and jumped bail a year later -- just as her trial was set to begin -- fleeing south of the border.

Elliott's family maintains a website dedicated to her at www.rachelelliott.org.

According to the young woman's biography, she was studying to be a forensic technician. Ironically, she had been an active participant in her high school's "Every 15 Minutes" program, which emphasizes the dangers of drinking and driving.