WESTMINSTER, Calif. -- A San Diego woman was charged Thursday in a fatal freeway accident in Orange County last year in which she is accused of being distracted when her vehicle rear-ended the victim’s car at a high speed, authorities said.

Jorene Ypanto Nicolas, 29, was arrested following an investigation by the California Highway Patrol. She is charged with felony vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, said Farrah Emami, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

Nicolas was being held Thursday night on $100,000 bail in jail in Santa Ana.

The collision occurred about 11 a.m. on April 27, 2011 on Interstate 405 in Fountain Valley. Deanna Mauer, 23, of Fountain Valley, an assistant high school softball coach and former star college athlete, died after her car was struck from behind.

Nicolas was driving about 80 mph in a Toyota Prius and was clearly distracted because she did not slow or brake when she drove up to stopped traffic, Emami said. Evidence does not indicate she was using a cellphone, Emami told The Orange County Register.

Mauer’s Hyundai sedan was pushed into a car in front of her, then struck a center divider before coming to a stop facing south in the northbound lanes, Emami said. Mauer died at a hospital about seven hours later. Nicolas was treated at a hospital for minor lacerations.

Mauer was a standout softball pitcher at California State University San Jose in 2008-2009, according to the school’s Athletic Department website, setting a single-game record with 15 shutouts. She had previously pitched two seasons at Central Arizona College.

After graduating, she worked as an assistant softball coach at San Juan Hills High School in San Juan Capistrano, the Register said.

Nicolas is scheduled to be arraigned in court Monday. She faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison if convicted, Emami said.

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