The charges against a woman accused of causing a head-on crash in Joshua Tree 10 days ago that killed a woman and critically injured her husband and 1-year-old daughter, were upgraded Saturday from felony DUI to gross vehicular manslaughter. According to the California Highway Patrol, Jennifer Zapata, 22, of Magna, Utah, was driving a white Hyundai Sonata that drifted across the center line while driving westbound on Highway 62 about 6:45 p.m. April 13. Her car crashed head-on into an eastbound red Mazda 6 near Arizona Avenue, driven by Lance Corporal Chris Matthews, 28, a Marine assigned to the Provost Marshall’s Office at the Twentynine Palms Marine base. Angela Matthews, his 25-year-old wife, died two days later at Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. Matthews and his 1-year-old daughter, Dakota, were critically injured, as were Zapata and a passenger in her car, Evelyn Martinez, 20, also of Utah. Zapata is being held at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center on $250,000 bail. If convicted, Jennifer Zapata could face up to 10 years in state prison.
