Ex-Lancaster School Principal Found Guilty Of Murder In DUI Wreck

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LANCASTER (CBSLA) – A former elementary school principal in Lancaster will serve at least 15 years in prison after she was found guilty Monday of murder in a drunken driving crash in Palmdale which killed a 29-year-old woman back in 2018.

At the scene of a fatal crash in Palmdale, Calif., on Nov. 15, 2018. (CBS2)

A Lancaster jury found 37-year-old Mary Noel Kruppe guilty of one count each of second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office reported Tuesday.

Kruppe was the principal of Enterprise Elementary School at the time of the wreck. She faces 15 years to life in prison.

On the night of Nov. 15, 2018, Kruppe was behind the wheel of a 2014 Jeep Wrangler traveling south on 50th Street East when she veered into oncoming traffic, California Highway Patrol reported at the time.

She slammed head-on into a 2010 Mazda 3 being driven by Jessica Ordaz. Ordaz died of her injuries.

Kruppe will be sentenced on Feb. 20.