A Sept. 12 preliminary hearing was set Tuesday for the alleged hit and run driver who killed Eastlake High School graduate Leilani Magno on July 8.
A tennis coach, George Joseph Espinosa, 47, appeared before a Chula Vista Superior Court judge Tuesday who set new court dates at the request of attorneys.
Espinosa is charged with hit and run with death and involuntary manslaughter. Magno, 17, was walking down a sidewalk on Lane Avenue around 8:10 p.m. in the Eastlake neighborhood. The driver of a large white pickup drove onto the sidewalk and struck her. The driver then took off.
Magno graduated in June and had plans to study medicine. Hundreds attended her celebration of life memorial in Bonita on July 17. She would have turned 18 on July 25.
To help with the funeral costs, her family posted a gofundme.com item and 611 people contributed to offset the funeral expenses. Her parents are Adrian Magno and Vanessa Rico, and she is survived by her two brothers Adrian and Kevin Magno and her sister Kayla Magno.
“She was a beautiful spirit ready to begin changing the world as a freshman at UC Irvine this fall,” stated the gofundme.com page. “Leilani was a top scholar and athlete. She was full of promise and potential.”
“Her family is grateful for the outpouring of support and love and is in the unexpected predicament of providing Leilani with the closure that would honor her short and beautiful life,” the page concluded.
Espinosa, of Chula Vista, was arrested July 17 and he remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility on $100,000 bail. Espinosa has pleaded not guilty.
