Woman sentenced to 90 days in jail for hitting, killing Carlsbad mom on e-bike

CARLSBAD, Calif. — The woman who admitted to accidentally hitting and killing a Carlsbad mother who was riding an e-bike in August 2022 was sentenced Thursday afternoon to 90 days behind bars in county jail and 90 days of home detention.

Christine Hawk Embree was riding an e-bike on Aug. 7, 2022, with her 16-month-old daughter Delilah on the back when she was hit by Turmelle driving a Toyota 4-Runner. Turmelle stayed on the scene, while Embree was taken to the hospital where she died from her injuries. Delilah was miraculously not hurt.

It was an emotional day in the Vista courtroom. Lindsay Turmelle, who was 42 years old at the time of the crash, read a statement apologizing to the Hawk-Embree family through tears.

The prosecution claimed Turmelle was distracted while she was driving and had ran through the stop sign. Turmelle’s attorney said the evidence claimed Turmelle was not on her phone while she was driving.

The judge said he hopes this deadly incident serves as a great reminder to the public to pay attention and not drive distracted.

The crash sparked a change in Carlsbad, as many people, including Embree’s husband Bob Embree, pushed for safer roadways at Carlsbad city council meetings.

The Deputy District Attorney involved in this case read a letter aloud from Bob Embree, which said he intentionally didn’t want to come to the court proceedings because he didn’t want to see or hear who killed his wife. In his letter, he asked the court to sentence the defendant to the maximum of one year in jail.

Christine’s father sought a different form of justice.

“I have prayed for your understanding, I have prayed for your forgiveness,” Turmelle said through tears.

“If God and Christine have forgiven you why wouldn’t I forgive you,” Joseph Hawk, Hawk-Embree’s father said.

Many people in the courtroom were heard audibly crying at this moment.

Turmelle said she has been speaking to traffic schools in the area about her experience and sharing her story. She is scheduled to start her 90-day sentence on Feb. 1.