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A 24-year-old Campbell woman has been charged with vehicular manslaughter and other felonies for a wrong-way crash that killed a woman and injured her son on Interstate Highway 280 in Woodside on April 22, the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office said Friday, April 28.
Constellatia Martin is accused of the crash reported on the afternoon of April 22 on southbound Highway 280 near Woodside Road.
The county coroner’s office has identified the woman who died as 54-year-old San Francisco resident Eden Palmer.
Prosecutors said Martin was driving a Ford Fusion north in the southbound lanes of the highway when she collided head-on with a BMW carrying Palmer and her 16-year-old son.
Martin then allegedly ran from the collision and authorities found her naked and lying down in a grassy area 150 yards away. She screamed bizarre statements, had red and watery eyes and rapid speech, and refused to take any sobriety tests before she was taken into custody. A blood sample taken later is still pending results, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Martin made her initial appearance in court on April 27, but did not enter a plea. The case was continued to May 11 and she remains in custody on no-bail status, prosecutors said. Her defense attorney was not immediately available to comment on the case.
A GoFundMe account created for the family of Palmer in the wake of the fatal crash had raised more than $86,000 as of April 28.
The GoFundMe page said Palmer was driving her teenage son to a soccer match and that the family dog also died in the crash.
“Eden was a beloved wife, mother, friend, community volunteer and force for anyone who ever needed anything. It’s time for us to honor Eden and rally around her family as they need our support,” the account says.
Her 16-year-old son “suffered massive internal injuries and while making a miraculous recovery, he will have a lifetime of care needs,” the GoFundMe account says.
The accused is not in fact a woman according to eyewitness accounts of their naked appearance.
Dear Almanac Editors,
Two questions:
1. Would you please explain your editorial policy generally for when you will use the word “woman” versus “transgender woman”?
2. Regarding this particular news story, if law enforcement identified the perpetrator as a “woman” but eye-witnesses reported that the perpetrator voluntarily stripped of all clothing and had male genitals, should the Almanac take any measures to investigate or report on this discrepancy?
If the press cares about democracy, it must strive for objective truth and honesty in reporting. There are compassionate and yet honest ways of reporting on all issues.
A tragedy occurred: a woman and family pet are dead, a teenager seriously injured. It’s truly sad that anyone is focused on the gender of the driver.
Let’s see the toxicology report. HRT, SSRIs and who knows what else will make a very unstable person. BTW Almanac, XY chromosomes mean that it’s a guy!