Mom admits guilt

A Chula Vista mother pleaded guilty March 28 to committing two counts of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, in the drowning deaths of her 5-year-old daughter and a playmate, after her car plunged into the Otay Reservoir.

Arlene Anna Hernandez, 22, pleaded guilty on the eve of her trial in Chula Vista Superior Court. She remains in the Las Colinas Women’s Detention Facility on $400,000 bail.

She faces a prison term between 6 and 12 years, said Deputy District Attorney Mary Loeb. Probation has been ruled out and sentencing is set for May 31.