SHE claims it was all a tragic accident, and from the sight of her sobbing in the dock of a US courtroom, Darla Renee Jackson certainly looks like a woman in a situation way over her head.

Driving along a San Diego highway last week, Jackson, 25, says a motorcyclist kicked her new car as he wove between traffic.

“She went on to follow him trying to get information for the insurance and what have you,” Jackson’s mother Margie told local news station KTLA.

But somehow, the rider —Navy special operations officer Zach Buob — ended up dead, his red Ducati motorbike run off the road.

Prosecutors say far from being a simple mistake, Jackson — in a fit of road rage — chased the motorcyclist, pushed him 100 metres along the road with her car before finally knocking him down and killing him. She’s been charged with murder.

Behind Jackson’s tears, a picture has also emerged of a woman with a history anger issues and harassing men, including threats to run an ex-boyfriend down with her car.

Court documents reveal Jackson, who only got her licence back in January after a two-year driving ban, has twice had restraining orders taken out against her, both by ex-boyfriends in 2012.

One of the men claimed to have received 72 phone calls from Jackson in a single day. He accused her of later trying to break into his house through a bedroom window after leaving menacing voicemail messages, including “I’m going to hurt you”.

She also once threatened: “I’m going to run your b***h ass over with my car,” after a row in a car park, according to reports citing court documents.

“All she really does is terrorise the community,” former friend Erica Lopez told local newspaper the San Diego Union-Tribune outside court, claiming she herself had been threatened by Jackson in the past.

“She’s hurt a lot of people. It sucks someone’s life had to be taken because of this crazy girl. She needs help.”

Prosecutors said witness statements showed the running down of Mr Buob was “a deliberate and intentional act”.

Friends from the Navy and motorcycle communities packed the courtroom for the hearing, paying tribute to the 39-year-old chief petty officer with a mass ride outside, demanding “Justice for Zach”.

“It’s just a huge loss to the country, to his family, to his friends,” friend Kathy Cramer said of Mr Buob, who spent 20 years in the armed forces.

Jackson’s lawyer Stephen Cline said the young mother accidentally hit Mr Buob as she tried to get his licence plate number and appealing for him to pull over after he struck her car.

“(She’s) very sorry, she’s very upset and she’s very traumatised,” he told reporters outside court.

Meanwhile, Jackson’s mother said the public backlash against her daughter was “extreme”, describing her as “so innocent”.

“She really has not been given a chance. The facts have not come out,” she said.

“I told her, ‘Don’t worry, it’ll be okay, it was an accident. He was the one acting crazy and driving erratically.”

Jackson’s bail was set at $1 million. She is due back in court in July.