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A car crashed into an apartment building in South Los Angeles on July 3, 2019. (Credit: KTLA)
A car crashed into an apartment building in South Los Angeles on July 3, 2019. (Credit: KTLA)

A woman has pleaded no contest to drunken driving and other charges in a crash into a South Los Angeles apartment building that resulted in the death of a mother sleeping beside her child, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Connie Jo Howard, 60, entered the plea to one count apiece of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, DUI causing injury, and driving with a .08% blood alcohol content, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. She had originally pleaded not guilty to charges.

Nicole Marks is seen in an image provided by family members.
Nicole Marks is seen in an image provided by family members.

Howard faces a prison term of eight years when she returns to court for sentencing on Jan. 13.

In the pre-dawn hours of July 3, 2019, Howard was behind the wheel when her vehicle slammed into an apartment building near Main Street and 87th Place, in the Broadway-Manchester neighborhood, according to prosecutors.

The car crashed into the bedroom of 44-year-old Nicole Marks, killing her as she slept next to her 4-year-old daughter, officials said. The girl was not seriously hurt.

A male passenger in Howard’s car was critically injured.

Neither the Los Angeles Police Department, which investigated the case, nor the District Attorney’s Office released a booking photo of the defendant.