Nursing Student Pleads Guilty in Fatal Rancho Peñasquitos Hit-and-Run

A Cal State San Marcos nursing student who fatally struck a pedestrian on a Rancho Peñasquitos offramp in October and left the scene pleaded guilty to felony hit-and-run Tuesday.

Nicoll Koval, 23, faces as much as four years in prison, or as little as probation, when she is sentenced June 3. The man she struck, Albert Holman, had been celebrating his 34th birthday with his sister when he left his car with two flat tires nearby, a Deputy District Attorney John Pro said. Witnesses reported seeing Holman walking along the edge of state Route 56 just east of the Black Mountain Road offramp sometime after 1 a.m. on Oct. 19, Pro said.

Koval's attorney, Michael McGlinn, said his client did not know what she hit and surrendered when she realized that she had been involved in a fatal accident.

A license-plate holder for a Nissan was found at the accident scene and when officers went to Koval's home—about two minutes from the crash site—they found a 2008 Nissan Sentra with significant front-end damage, Pro said. The car also had a damaged windshield and one of the victim's shoes was found in the undercarriage of Koval's car, he said.

The victim's body was mangled almost beyond recognition when officers arrived around 3:30 a.m., Pro said. Between 2:30-3 a.m., a driver had to swerve to avoid hitting the victim's body in the road, he said.

"She did not stop," the prosecutor said earlier. "It is our opinion that she, in fact, should have stopped. Not stopping is a crime."

City News Service contributed to this report.