Girl pleads guilty in fatal crash

The 16-year-old girl charged in the Feb. 28 accident that killed two of her Eldorado High School classmates pleaded guilty to reckless driving just before her Juvenile Court trial was to begin Monday.

Amber Carey will be sentenced June 15 by Juvenile Judge Gerald Hardcastle to either probation or an indeterminate stay in a youth institution, but the girl's attorney Bill Terry said the punishment already has begun.

"There's nothing like her self-imposed punishment," Terry said. "Take into consideration it was her two best friends and she caused their deaths."

Carey had faced two counts of reckless driving and two charges of involuntary manslaughter. The manslaughter charges were dismissed with her guilty plea to the reckless driving counts.

Terry said the teenager pleaded guilty because "the reality is that there was reckless driving in this case."

Carey was driving north on U.S. 95 near Lake Mead Boulevard at speeds of up to 115 mph when a tire, not rated for high speeds, blew out, authorities have alleged.

The Nevada Highway Patrol said her blood-alcohol level at the time was 0.07 percent -- less than the 0.10 required to prove drunken driving in either adult or juvenile court, but sufficient for charges to be filed in the juvenile system.

He conceded "there was drinking that night," but that Carey does not believe she has a problem with alcohol.

The message for other teens, Terry said, is that "there is a specific reason" why persons under the age of 21 are prohibited from drinking.

"She'll never forget the night this incident occurred," he said. "She'll live with it the rest of her life."

When Carey is sentenced, Hardcastle could put her in one of the state's youth institutions for girls at either Caliente or Elko, place her in a residential cottage on the Juvenile Court grounds or give her probation with requirements such as counseling and community service.

Terry said that Carey has been attending school since the incident.

Killed when Carey's car hit a wall were Olga Lopez and Kena Corbet, both 16.

Carey was hospitalized with injuries, but a 14-year-old passenger, Samantha Jenkins, escaped serious injury.

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