No contest plea by Sebastopol man in fatal DUI crash

A Sebastopol man faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading no contest Friday to felony charges stemming from a crash that killed a 34-year-old passenger.

Emile Carlitz Smith, also 34, was the driver in the Nov. 23, 2012 crash that killed Selena Ross of Santa Rosa.

Smith was driving at a high rate of speed eastbound on Todd Road, west of Phillips Avenue, when his car went off the road and hit a tree, prosecutors said.

Ross, who was riding in the front seat, took the full impact of the crash. She died of her injuries. Smith was initially uncooperative and denied knowing Ross, delaying the investigation, prosecutors said.

Toxicology reports showed Smith had a large amount of methamphetamine in his system.

He pleaded no contest to vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence while intoxicated and driving under the influence of drugs. His five prior prison commitments add an additional five years to the sentence he will receive on Feb. 5.