Crime & Safety

Preliminary Hearing Postponed for Woman Accused of Killing East County Firefighter in Crash

Darin Steffey was a career firefighter assigned to the Forest Service's Glencliff station.

A preliminary hearing was postponed today until March 21 for a woman accused of causing a head-on crash on Buckman Springs Road in El Cajon that killed a federal firefighter as he headed home from work on his motorcycle.

Natasia Wood, 22, is charged with felony manslaughter in the death of 37- year-old Darin Steffey, a U.S. Forest Service firefighter. She's accused of crashing into the motorcycle about 6:15 p.m. Oct. 3, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The defendant was traveling north on Buckman Springs Road -- going more than 70 mph -- when her 2008 Dodge Durango drifted to the right shoulder and she overcompensated, steering the SUV directly into the path of Steffey's southbound motorcycle, said CHP Officer Kevin Pearlstein. Steffey was pronounced dead at the scene.

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Steffey, a career firefighter, was assigned to the Forest Service's Glencliff station on Old Highway 80 in Cleveland National Forest

—City News Service

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