Galt woman faces life in prison if convicted of teen's death, judge says

A Galt woman who was allegedly driving drunk when she rear-ended and killed a 17-year-old Galt driver could face life in prison, a judge told her at a Wednesday court appearance.

According to police and court records, that collision wasn't the first time 43-year-old Kathy DeLaurentis has had alcohol-related incidents, and her blood-alcohol level was nearly five times the legal driving limit at least twice, according to police and court records.

Kathy DeLaurentis looks toward a family member during her arraignment Wednesday in Lodi Superior Court. (Jerry Tyson/News-Sentinel)

Monday's collision happened when DeLaurentis was driving south on Lower Sacramento Road with a blood-alcohol content level of about .26, or more than three times the legal driving limit, Deputy District Attorney Scott Fichtner said. The legal driving limit is .08.

Adam Lawrence Williams was waiting to turn left onto Woodson Road, moments away from his girlfriend's house, where he was going to meet her and look at tuxedos for prom. DeLaurentis' Toyota crashed into Williams' Volkswagen Beetle, sending it into the path of a gray van traveling north.

Adam Williams

Williams was declared dead at the scene, according to the California Highway Patrol. The van's driver, Gustavo Reyna Jr., was taken to the hospital with major injuries including broken ribs and a fractured wrist.

On Wednesday, several of Williams' Galt High School classmates sat in a Lodi courtroom while DeLaurentis, wearing shackles and orange jail clothing, listened as Judge J. Thomas Seibly read the charges to her.

His father did not attend the court appearance because he was finalizing funeral plans, though he did talk about his son later Wednesday.

Williams' girlfriend, a freshman at Galt High School, was among the group of friends who sniffled and fought back tears as the Seibly told DeLaurentis that she was being charged with "unlawfully, and with malice, killing Adam Lawrence Williams, a human being."

Terry Clark, right, mother of Adam Williams, is consoled by another son, Chris Williams, as they kneel at a roadside memorial in memory of Adam, who was killed Monday at the intersection of Woodson and Lower Sacramento roads. (Jerry Tyson/News-Sentinel)

Gross vehicular manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in state prison, but a previous drunk driving conviction within seven years can increase

that sentence to 15 years to life in prison, according to California law.

On Nov. 15, 2001, DeLaurentis was arrested by Galt police officers on suspicion of driving under the influence in a restaurant parking lot, said Galt police Lt. Ken Erickson. Though she hadn't actually left the parking lot, the car was turned on, placed in gear and her two children, then 10, were also in the vehicle, he said.

A breath test given to her at that scene revealed a .37 blood-alcohol level, Erickson said.

DeLaurentis was then convicted in Sacramento County Superior Court on Dec. 31, 2001, Fichtner said, but he did not have the full file, and the outcome of that case was not available Wednesday.

Less than six weeks later, on Feb. 9, 2002, Galt police again had contact with DeLaurentis, this time because she had fallen after leaving a crab feed, Erickson said.

"She was extremely unstable; she had to be held by both arms while placed in a patrol vehicle," he said.

Arrested for public intoxication, a preliminary test revealed her blood-alcohol level to be .40, according to Erickson.

In most cases, a person with a blood-alcohol level around .25 or .35, and anything higher, can face "possibly fatal consequences," said San Joaquin General Hospital spokeswoman Troylene Sayler, who consulted with emergency room doctor Richard Buys.

A person's weight and tolerance level can affect those consequences, Sayler said. It also depends on how fast the alcohol was consumed: The faster it was consumed, the more drastic the effects.

Williams' friends murmured quietly when they heard the blood-alcohol levels, and they expressed their shock after court.

"I can't believe, with the previous times, that it's taken so long for this to happen," said Jennifer Weiss, the girlfriend of Williams' older brother.

As Seibly read the charges in court, DeLaurentis' husband, Dino DeLaurentis, placed his head on his hand while two men sat beside him in the courtroom. He declined to comment after court.

Kathy DeLaurentis asked to be represented by the public defender's office, but after Seibly reviewed a brief list of family assets and money compiled by her husband, he decided that she should be able to afford her own attorney.

The judge set a new court date for next Wednesday, at which time DeLaurentis will likely confirm that she has an attorney. She may also enter a plea at that time.

She is being held at the county jail in French Camp on $150,000 bail, which Seibly raised Wednesday from the previous amount of $54,538.

DeLaurentis trembled as bailiffs led her away, and Williams' friends quietly left the courtroom.

They expressed sorrow and anger. But they also want a conclusion, Weiss said.

"We want it over with. We want closure, and we want her to go to jail for a long time," she said.

Wednesday marked the first day Williams' father, Stockton police Officer Steve Williams, was able to talk about the incident, he said by telephone.

From the time Adam Williams was 3, his single dad alone raised him and his older brother, now 21. Last month, exactly one month before the collision, Steve Williams remarried.

Father and son were close, and because Adam Williams loved wakeboarding, they frequently went out boating -- whether or not it was cold.

"He was just such a happy kid. There were no issues in his life," Steve Williams said. "His biggest worry in this world was whether it was going to rain on Saturday" so he could go wakeboarding.

The fact that DeLaurentis was driving under the influence struck him as ironic. Just a few years ago, Steve Williams quit drinking alcohol for the sake of his children, he said.

The family is receiving support that has helped them through the grief, he said, and the police department has given him leave until he is ready to return to work, Stockton police spokesman Doug Anderson said.

"The people from my work have really rallied around to help. My sergeant was here mowing my lawn this morning," Steve Williams said.

The Stockton Police Officers Association has established a fund to help the family to help pay for funeral expenses, Anderson said. Checks may be made out to the association and mailed to 22 E. Market St., Stockton, CA 95202.

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