Irvine woman gets two years for fatal crash

An Irvine woman was sentenced to two years in prison Friday for running a red light and fatally hitting a 77-year-old woman making a left turn.

Laurie Anne Keen, 43, pleaded guilty in December to vehicular manslaughter, misdemeanor recent use of a controlled substance and driving while uninsured.

On the afternoon of Jan. 18, Keen was driving southbound on Culver Drive toward Farwell Avenue in Irvine when she ran a red light and crashed into Patricia Thompson-Yates’ sedan as Thompson-Yates was turning left onto northbound Culver Drive.

Thompson-Yates was rushed to the hospital, where she died less than an hour later. Keen was uninjured. A blood test showed she had recently used methamphetamine.

—Joseph Serna

Twitter: @JosephSerna