Sacto 9-1-1: Update: Woman involved in collision now suspected of homicide

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August 18, 2008

Update: Woman involved in collision now suspected of homicide

From David Richie:

A woman whose car collided with a motorcycle last week killing the driver now is suspected of homicide, authorities said Sunday.

Melissa Nicole Nichols, 23, left, initially had been booked into El Dorado County Jail on Friday on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter after a puzzling head-on collision Thursday evening.

California Highway Patrol investigators said that Nichols and Anthony James Payne, 23, had been dating. They were seen by a passerby talking to each other on Carson Road, near East County Road, at about 7:45 p.m. Thursday. Nichols was driving a 2004 Pontiac Grand AM and Payne was on a Honda 1000 motorcycle.

After the conversation, they departed in different directions but, at some point, investigators say Payne evidently turned his motorcycle and came back westbound toward Nichols. For some reason her car drifted into that lane and struck the motorcycle head-on. The impact threw Payne about 200 feet and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"Investigators from the California Highway Patrol and our agency met for a long time Friday afternoon to discuss it," Sgt. Phil Chovanec, El Dorado County Sheriff's Office spokesman, said Sunday.

Investigators also interviewed a passenger who was with Nichols at the time of the crash and developed other evidence they felt supported a murder count, Chovanec said.

The sheriff's office is now lead agency for the continuing investigation but CHP investigators remain involved in the case, Chovanec said.

Nichols was transported to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with minor injuries after the wreck. On Friday she was brought back to Placerville and booked into jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and drunken driving resulting in bodily injury.

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Q: What happened with the case regarding Marc McCormick? He was accused of videotaping a woman in her home and was arrested. He lives in my neighborhood and I see him all the time. Were charges dropped?

A: According to Sacramento Superior Court online records, misdemeanor charges have been filed against Mark William McCormick, alleging that he used a camcorder or other instrument to view an individual in a place where there was an expectation of privacy, trespassing and peeping.

His next court date is June 4.

According to Sacramento police logs, McCormick, 40, was arrested March 8 after the victim reported that a friend had entered her home without her knowledge to secretly videotape her.

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