Quick Take

Nearly a year after Debra "Debby" Towne was killed in a fatal hit-and-run incident in Capitola, Soquel resident Aurora Lopez pleaded guilty. Towne's daughter, Adrienne West, told Lookout this past year has been very challenging and that the maximum sentence of four years for Lopez doesn't feel like enough to her.

Soquel resident Aurora Lopez pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter and hit-and-run causing death on Friday, almost a year after Capitola police say she hit and killed 70-year-old Debby Towne on Bay Avenue in Capitola last Nov. 18. 

Towne’s daughter, Adrienne West, said this past year has been very difficult, and Lopez’s plea last week hasn’t brought much closure as she feels the maximum potential sentence of four years – minus time Lopez has already been incarcerated – isn’t enough. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 1, 2025.

“It has been really hard,” said West. “I still want to call her about certain things. I miss hearing her voice so much. There’s just this big hole. I don’t think I’ll ever feel at peace.” 

It’s been 11 months since police say Lopez hit Towne at about 8:30 p.m. as she walked south on Bay Avenue in the Crossroads Loops crosswalk. According to police reports, Lopez then fled the scene and was later arrested on Dec. 1, charged with vehicular manslaughter and being responsible for a hit-and-run causing death. She initially pleaded not guilty. 

West said she’s worried about Lopez when she’s released and begins driving again. 

“As wrong as it feels, her punishment is just not long enough,” she said. “It doesn’t seem even close to feeling like there’s justice.” 

In December 2025, Lopez will have been in custody for two years. By that time, she will also have received two years of credit. So when she is sentenced to four years in prison, her sentence will be deemed served.

Lopez didn’t want to serve time in prison and preferred to serve time in jail, and the district attorney’s office wanted her to serve the maximum sentence. If she were to have been sentenced now, she would have been transferred to prison — to the custody of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. In prison, she would have served less time because defendants can get increased credits for serving time in prison versus time in jail.

So instead, the court scheduled her sentencing for Dec. 2025.

After Towne’s death and an outcry from the community about public safety concerns of the Bay Avenue corridor, the Capitola City Council and staff began taking steps to address speeding traffic and pedestrian safety, such as installing illuminated stop signs in the area. 

“I feel like any change headed in the right direction is something to be grateful for,” said West about the city’s efforts.

Newly painted areas of road around the busy intersection of Bay Avenue and Hill Street, with green bike lines for cyclists and a blue area the city says is intended to extend sidewalks and shorten crossing distances for pedestrians.
Newly painted areas of road around the busy intersection of Bay Avenue and Hill Street in August, with green bike lines for cyclists and a blue area the city says is intended to extend sidewalks and shorten crossing distances for pedestrians. Credit: Kevin Painchaud / Lookout Santa Cruz

FOR THE RECORD: This story has been updated with additional information about the defendant’s sentencing.

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After three years of reporting on public safety in Iowa, Hillary joins Lookout Santa Cruz with a curious eye toward the county’s education beat. At the Iowa City Press-Citizen, she focused on how local...