Seaside teen driver pleads no contest for DUI crash that killed friend

SEASIDE, Calif. (KION-TV)- Monterey County District Attorney Jeannine M. Pacioni said a teen driver faces ten years in state prison for a DUI crash that resulted in the death of her friend on Sep. 19, 2021.

Emely Rivera Vigil, 19, of Seaside, pled no contest to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and one count of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs causing injury, said Pacioni.

Just before 11 a.m. that day in Sept., Vigil was traveling north on Highway 1 between Seaside and Marina in a 202 Ford Fusion with two high school friends. Pacioni said, due to the combination of marijuana and alcohol, Vigil lost control of her vehicle.

She then swerved into the freeway center divide at a high speed. This caused the vehicle to flip multiple times, resulting in the 16-year-old female rear passenger being ejected and killed, according to Pacioni.

The second passenger, also a female minor, received minor injuries, according to Pacioni.

Rivera Vigil is facing up to 10 years and 4 months in state prison at her sentencing on Jan. 26, 2023.