Gardnerville woman charged in traffic deaths of family of four

A Gardnerville woman was charged Monday with causing a head-on collision last summer in which four members of a Torrance, Calif., family were killed on their way to Lake Tahoe for vacation.

Dawn Miley, 42, was charged with reckless endangerment causing death or substantial bodily harm.

According to the criminal complaint, Miley self-medicated her diabetic condition without supervision of a physician. That resulted in her driving while her level of consciousness was altered by low blood sugar, causing her to lose control of the vehicle.

The accident occurred July 14 at 2:30 p.m.

Witnesses said Miley was driving southbound at a high speed on Highway 395, passing several vehicles before her 2002 Suzuki sport utility vehicle left the roadway surface along the right, overcorrected, and struck a pickup truck in the northbound lane near Leviathan Mine Road.

Killed were Jerome Calvero, 58; his wife, Maria Amelia, 52; daughter Bernadette, 23, and son Jerome Daniel, 15.

The Calveros were all dead at the scene.

Miley was taken by helicopter to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno where she was treated for internal injuries.

According to court documents, Miley caused in a three-car collision in 2002 in California in which she and six other people were injured. The report did not indicate if she was prosecuted for the earlier accident that she attributed to her medical condition.

In an interview with Douglas County investigators, Miley reportedly said she developed diabetes in 1989 after she was exposed to a virus.

She said she moved to Carson Valley in 2005 and was unable to maintain medical insurance so she decided to treat her diabetes with over-the-counter.

Miley said she tests her blood sugar and injects herself four times a day, according to court documents.

Investigators subpoenaed her medical records from two Carson City doctors who indicated they warned her of the dangers of not monitoring her condition under a physician's supervision.

One doctor said he told her that low-cost or free treatment was available. He also told her to enroll in a free diabetes education program but she did not follow his advice, according to reports.

Miley was expected to turn herself in this week. Bail was set at $2,500 cash.