Maria Espinoza, the driver in last year's car crash that injured U.S. national team forward Charlie Davies and killed her friend, was charged this week with involuntary manslaughter and driving while intoxicated, according to a charging document obtained by FanHouse.
Espinoza is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Va., on Tuesday, when she is expected to enter a guilty plea to the two felony counts, according to court documents. She is not currently in custody.
The charges are federal because the accident occurred on land under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Park Police.
Espinoza was not seriously injured in the early-morning wreck on the George Washington Parkway in Arlington, Va., on Oct. 13, 2009. Ashley Roberta, 22, was killed and Davies (photo) was critically injured. The injuries, which included several broken bones and a lacerated kidney, kept Davies off the team that played in last summer's World Cup.
Davies was in Washington with the national team, which was preparing for a World Cup qualifier against Costa Rica two days later. He was breaking curfew the night of the accident.
Police who arrived on the scene alleged Espinoza had alcohol on her breath, and investigators have had a difficult time assessing how fast the Infiniti SUV was traveling.
U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Peter Carr declined to comment. Jan Roberta, Ashley's mother, told FanHouse that she is withholding comment until after sentencing, when she expects to give a victim's impact statement.
"They (prosecutors) want me to focus on that," Jan Roberta said.
Davies' attorney, Jon Pels, released a statement saying, "Charlie Davies has left this matter in the capable hands of the U.S. Attorney's office. He will be happy to comment once this matter concludes and the U.S. Attorney authorizes him to do so."
Espinoza's attorney, Robert Schwartzman, told FanHouse he had no comment. Espinoza has also enlisted Peter Greenspun, a lawyer based in Fairfax, Va., who represented D.C. sniper John Allen Muhammad and sportscaster Marv Albert, who was accused of sexual assault in 1997.
Davies, 24, has continued his rehabilitation and has played several games for the reserve team of his French club, Sochaux.
However, Davies made traffic-related headlines again last month when he falsely claimed to be the driver of a car traveling nearly 125 mph outside Sochaux. He later said he wasn't driving, but that he lied to police in order to protect a teammate. He was fined and had his license suspended and could face additional charges.
November 12 2010 Last updated at 04:23 PM ET
Maria Espinoza Charged in Fatal Crash That Injured Charlie Davies
By A.J. Perez
National Reporter
Read More: US Soccer U.S. Men's National Team FanHouse Exclusive Charlie+Davies, charlie+davies+crash, maria+espinoza
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