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Saldana
By Allison Scarbrough, News Editor
MUSKEGON — A 36-year-old mother has been charged with operating while intoxicated causing death and reckless driving causing death in connection to the tragic death of her 6-year-old daughter.
The child died in a three-vehicle crash on Holton Road near East Michillinda Road in Dalton Township Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 21, according to the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office. The 6-year-old was ejected from the vehicle her mother was driving, according to police.
Sandra Samatha Saldana is lodged in the Muskegon County Jail on a $250,000 cash/surety bond, according to court records. Saldana was arraigned in Muskegon County’s 60th District Court Thursday, Oct. 23, and is scheduled to appear for a probable cause hearing Nov. 6, followed by a preliminary exam, Nov. 13. If convicted, she faces up to 15 years in prison for each charge.
“It was determined that a vehicle was traveling south on Holton Road when they rear-ended another vehicle going in the same direction,” states a press release from the Muskegon County Sheriff’s Office. “The impact of the crash sent both vehicles into northbound traffic. A northbound vehicle then struck the offender’s vehicle. A 6-year-old passenger was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene.”
Police said they are continuing to investigate the crash.
Saldana, who had a Hesperia address at the time, was found guilty in Oceana County’s 51st Circuit Court Sept. 15, 2020 of assaulting/resisting/obstructing police and was sentenced Nov. 30, 2020 to one day in jail with credit for one day served; 10 months probation; and $458 in fines and costs. Saldana’s sentence was delayed until Oct. 4, 2021. She successfully completed the delayed sentence, according to court records, allowing her to withdraw her plea to the felony and enter a plea to a misdemeanor of attempted assaulting/resisting/obstructing police.
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