A week before her case was scheduled to go to trial, an Imperial Beach woman accused of running down a motorcyclist on a South Bay freeway nearly two years ago pleaded guilty Tuesday to voluntary manslaughter.

Darla Renee Jackson, 27, had been charged with murder stemming from the 2015 death of Zacharias Buob, a 39-year-old Navy chief petty officer.

Buob died as a result of a collision that occurred after he and Jackson got into an altercation sparked by “road rage” on northbound Interstate 5 near E Street before driving onto state Route 54, prosecutors said.

Jackson, who was driving a Nissan Altima, chased after Buob on May 28, 2015, and crashed into his motorcycle, sending the rider tumbling to the ground. She ran over Buob as she swerved her car to avoid the fallen bike, witnesses said.


Buob died at a hospital.

Chula Vista Superior Court Judge Francis Devaney asked the defendant a series of questions before accepting her guilty plea to manslaughter, a lesser charge of murder. He asked whether Jackson was provoked during the incident and whether she acted rashly as a result of that provocation by taking off after the motorcyclist at high speed.

Jackson, speaking in a soft voice, responded: “Yes.”

The judge said that although the manslaughter charge carries a potential maximum sentence of 11 years in prison, he would likely order a term of three or six years at a hearing scheduled for April 14.


Defense lawyer Stephen Cline told the judge he didn’t agree with Jackson’s decision to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter. Cline has long disputed the prosecution’s version of the case and has argued that the evidence supports a charge of gross vehicular manslaughter, not murder.

“I’m not joining this plea,” Cline said in the courtroom. “but I do believe she has made a knowing and intelligent decision.”

Cline has said Jackson pleaded guilty to avoid facing a possible life sentence if she had been convicted at trial. Because the prosecution would not consider charging Jackson with gross vehicular manslaughter — which carries a shorter maximum sentence — Cline said his client felt she had no other choice but to plead guilty Tuesday to the charge that was available to her.

Outside the courtroom, Deputy District Attorney Laura Evans explained that gross vehicular manslaughter had been part of the discussion, but it was “not something our office ultimately considered.”


According to testimony at a November 2015 preliminary hearing, the dispute began when Jackson passed Buob on the freeway. Both vehicles were in the fast lane at the time, which appeared to upset Buob.

He gestured at Jackson, shaking his head and possibly flipping her a middle finger.

When Jackson swerved toward the motorcycle, Buob “flinched,” according to the testimony. Buob pulled next to Jackson’s car and kicked the passenger-side door.

He then drove toward an off-ramp to state Route 54, and Jackson followed. Both were moving at speeds of 75 mph to 85 mph, according to the testimony.


The judge at that hearing said she believed Buob had a role in the incident, but Jackson “chose to dive dangerously and recklessly in pursuit” of the motorcyclist.

A California Highway Patrol investigator testified that Jackson’s car was moving at 93 mph on the transition ramp seven seconds before the crash.

Buob had been ahead of the Nissan but had to slow down because of traffic.

Jackson told CHP Officer Brad Clinkscales that she did not intend to hit Buob but wanted to get the license plate number from his motorcycle.


The plate was hard to see because of how it was mounted, according to the testimony.

dana.littlefield@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @danalittlefield