A former elementary school teacher has been found guilty of murder in a 2018 crash that killed a 29-year-old Lancaster woman, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
A jury on Monday found 37-year-old Mary Noel Kruppe guilty of second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
On Nov. 15, 2018, Kruppe veered into oncoming traffic on 50th Street East near Avenue P in the Palmdale area. She crashed head-on into the vehicle driven by 29-year-old Lancaster resident Jessica Ordaz, the DA’s Office said.
Ordaz died in the crash.
Kruppe, who lived in Pearblossom, was the principal at Enterprise Elementary in Lancaster at the time.
She was arrested the night of the incident, according to county inmate records. Four days later, Kruppe was charged with murder.
Kruppe is set to be sentenced on Feb. 20. She could spend 15 years to life in state prison, prosecutors said.