SAN DIEGO -- A motorist accused of being high on methamphetamine when he drove his van onto a sidewalk, killing a woman on her morning walk in Sabre Springs, pleaded not guilty Friday to gross vehicular manslaughter, DUI and other charges.

Carl William David Jr., 35, was ordered held on $250,000 bail.

Deputy District Attorney Amy Colby told Judge David Szumowski that the defendant admitted using meth on Wednesday morning before he struck Sandra Kay Kennedy in the 12600 block of Sabre Springs Parkway shortly before 9:30 a.m.

The impact carried the 63-year-old victim about 96 feet, and she died at the scene, the prosecutor said.

When officers arrived, David was standing next to the victim and was trying to wave down drivers to call 911, Colby told the judge.

The prosecutor said the defendant admitted using meth every day for three days leading up to the accident and had only slept two hours before he struck the victim.

"He was on a meth binge," Colby told the judge.

David -- a transient whose last known address was in El Centro -- was arrested in 2003 for DUI but was not convicted, the prosecutor said.

The defendant said the first time he realized he had hit Kennedy is when he saw her face hit the windshield, Colby told the judge.

Besides felony gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI causing injury, David is charged with misdemeanor driving on a suspended license and possession of a hypodermic needle.

David -- who has a history of substance abuse -- faces up to 10 years in state prison if convicted, Colby told reporters outside court.

He will be back in court Oct. 28 for a readiness conference and Oct. 30 for a preliminary hearing.