Convicted of DUI twice, Fresno woman now faces murder trial in deadly Highway 180 crash

A two-time DUI driver charged with causing a fatal head-on collision in southwest Fresno last year will go on trial for murder, a Fresno County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday.

Judge Heather Mardel Jones found there was enough evidence to proceed with the case against Leigha Linae Addington, 29.

Addington is charged with the murder of 66-year-old Brenda Sue Ricci who died as a result of a head-on collision on Highway Way 180 just west of Cornelia Avenue on April 17, 2021.

Ricci, a retired hair dresser, was on her way home to Fresno after spending the day visiting relatives in Mendota, said her husband Mark Booze. “That’s the kind of person she was, always doing things for others,” Booze said.

The day of the crash, Ricci was driving her Honda CR-V east on Highway 180 at about 5 p.m. Unbeknownst to her, an allegedly intoxicated Addington was heading toward her in a GMC pickup truck traveling westbound in Highway 18.

Testifying during Thursday’s preliminary hearing, California Highway Patrol Officer Jason Protzman said a witness said he was behind Addington’s truck on Highway 180 when he noticed she had difficulty staying in her lane.

“He said he saw it veer to the right and then veer to the left into eastbound traffic,” Protzman said. “The vehicle that was traveling eastbound on 180 swerved to the right, taking evasive action but the two cars collided. There was debris everywhere.”

The first officer on the scene found both drivers pinned in their cars.

CHP officer Jaime Andrade testified that he noticed a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Addington, the driver of the GMC truck.

Ricci was hurt badly and was yelling in pain, Andrade said.

Once rescue crews arrived they provided medical treatment to the two injured drivers.

Ricci was taken to Community Regional Medical Center with major injuries. She remained under medical care for a year until she was taken off of life support. She died on May 19.

Andrade said he spoke to Addington, who was the less injured of the two drivers, to try and find out how the crash happened. He testified that she provided three different statements.

“She said that she was retrieving her phone as the vehicle veered off the road, then she said she was an idiot who was too drunk and then she said she might have fallen asleep behind the wheel,” Andrade testified.

The officer also gave her a field sobriety test known as the HGN, or the Horizontal Nystagmus Test. The test looks for involuntary jerking of the eye, one of the signs that a person is under the influence of alcohol.

Andrade also gave her a chemical breath test and he determined she was nearly three times over the legal limit of 0.08. blood alcohol concentration.

Addington’s defense attorney James Makasian challenged the reliability of the HGN test, arguing that the officer gave her the test while she was lying on a gurney. Normally, the test is given when the person is standing.

Makasian questioned Andrade about whether the HGN test is accurate when a person is laying on their back. He replied that he did not know.

Along with being charged with murder, Addington is also charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while impaired and DUI causing great bodily injury.

Addington has two previous DUIs, one from 2016 and another from 2021. She was on probation from the 2021 conviction when she crashed into Ricci.

If she is found guilty on all the charges, Addington faces 15-years-to-life in prison.