Traffic Death Plea
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Heather Tolles of South Pasadena pleaded not guilty Thursday in South Bay Municipal Court to two counts of murder and three other felony charges stemming from a May 5 traffic collision in Manhattan Beach that killed a pregnant woman.
Tolles, 19, is charged with the murder of Laura Obele, 26, and her fetus. The Manhattan Beach woman was scheduled to give birth to a baby boy three weeks after the accident.
Tolles, who was allegedly under the influence of LSD, is also charged with vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence of drugs and evading a police officer.
She is scheduled to face a preliminary hearing June 12 in South Bay Municipal Court.
Police say Tolles and a friend took LSD outside a Saturday afternoon Grateful Dead concert at Cal State Dominguez Hills in Carson, then drove through Manhattan Beach. Tolles allegedly ran a red light while driving north on Highland Avenue and collided with Obele, who was driving east on Manhattan Beach Boulevard, just four blocks from her apartment.
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