Los Osos teen will be tried as an adult in hit-and-run that killed Cal Poly student

A Los Osos teen will be tried as an adult and could face prison time for allegedly killing a bicyclist while driving drunk in August, a judge ruled Monday.

Gianna Brencola, 17, has been in the custody of juvenile services in lieu of $195,000 bail since Aug. 29, when she was arrested in the hit-and-run death of 22-year-old Cal Poly student Kennedy Love.

Assistant District Attorney Lee Cunningham said Monday that prosecutors plan to file four felony charges against Brencola before her scheduled arraignment in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Thursday.

Cunningham said the complaint will include charges of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated without gross negligence, driving under the influence causing death, and hit-and-run. Those charges carry several criminal enhancements that could add significant time to a possible sentence if she’s convicted.

It was not immediately clear what maximum sentence she could face in adult court if convicted on all charges, but Brencola could only have been held up to her 23rd birthday if convicted in juvenile court.

Brencola — who’s identity had not previously been released — was arrested Aug. 29 in Los Osos, hours after Love was struck while riding a bicycle on Foothill Boulevard near Ferrini Road at roughly 11:30 p.m.

During the investigation, witnesses told San Luis Obispo police officers that they saw a vehicle with damage to the driver’s side window enter the nearby Panda Express parking lot. There, witnesses said they saw two women get out of the car and examine the damage before getting back in and driving onto Ramona Drive.

Officers found the vehicle abandoned on Tassajara Drive near Luneta Drive and traced it to the home of the registered owner in Los Osos. That’s where they found Brencola, who allegedly confessed to drinking alcohol before crashing into Love, according to the Police Department.

Love, a San Diego native, was a third-year landscape architecture student at Cal Poly, according to the university. His friends told The Tribune he was a kind, forward-thinking young man who loved adventure and enjoyed singing and playing the guitar and piano.

A ghost bike has been installed in Love’s memory near the scene of the crash.

This story was originally published October 30, 2017 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Los Osos teen will be tried as an adult in hit-and-run that killed Cal Poly student."