San Diego DUI man

A San Diego man whose girlfriend was killed when he ran a stop sign in Mission Valley while drunk and crashed his sedan into a bus pleaded guilty Thursday to gross vehicular manslaughter and felony DUI.

Kenneth Anthony Smith, who entered his San Diego DUI plea before Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Fraser, will be sentenced to 14 years and four months in state prison on May 7.

The 50-year-old defendant would have faced a maximum 38-year term if convicted of all charges at trial.

Smith's girlfriend, 53-year-old Deborah Voss, suffered major head injuries in the May 20, 2007, crash, which occurred about 8:50 p.m. in the 900 block of Hotel Circle North. She was taken off life-support systems two days later.

San Diego DUI Authorities said Smith was on probation for being under the influence of drugs when the accident occurred and also has a 1984 conviction for gross vehicular manslaughter.

Cecelia Serrano-Maldona, who was one of two injured people aboard the bus, testified at an earlier hearing that she and others were heading home to Encinitas from a church conference at the Town and Country Hotel when she heard the sound of screeching tires.

The San Diego DUI witness said she needed 10 stitches to close a cut on her forehead from broken glass.

San Diego DUI Witness Susan Lupsha testified that she was eastbound on Hotel Circle North behind Smith's 1988 Mercedes-Benz when it failed to slow down and slammed into the back of the school bus, which was about to make a turn.

San Diego police Officer Henry Castro, who was dispatched to evaluate Smith to see if he was San Diego DUI impaired, said earlier the motorist was upset and agitated when he talked to him at the crash scene.

Smith told another officer that he and Vess had used cocaine in Ocean Beach before driving to Mission Valley, San Diego DUI officer Castro testified.

The San Diego DUI defendant told the first officer at the scene that his driver's license had been suspended, according to Officer Blake Cheary.

Cheary testified that Smith told him that he took his eyes off the road when a car passed him on the right.

San Diego police Officer Heidi Hawley previously testified that Smith told her that he "panicked" when a car went past him and another came toward him on the roadway.

The San Diego DUI defendant listed several medications he was taking, including two anti-depressants and one for pain, according to a San Diego DUI officer.

The San Diego DUI officer estimated Smith was driving about 50 mph in a 35 mph zone before braking, and said the car was going an estimated 25-30 mph when it hit the bus.