San Diego

A Rancho Bernardo man believed to have caused an accident that killed a Poway woman when a police car chasing him struck the woman’s car pleaded innocent Friday to vehicular manslaughter.

Omar Ulysses Martinez, 25, also pleaded innocent to evading a police officer, possessing a false registration for the motorcycle he was operating and being unlicensed to operate a motorcycle.

The Jan. 19 accident on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in Kearny Mesa claimed the life of Donna Lovett, 23.

The accident renewed the debate about police chases at high speeds and was the first in a recent series of accidents involving people hit by police cars.

San Diego Municipal Judge Nicholas Kasimatis set bail at $10,000.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Steve Robinson said a California Highway Patrol officer was chasing a speeding motorcyclist when the accident occurred. The motorcyclist escaped.

The district attorney’s office, Robinson said, recently determined that there was no criminal liability on the part of the highway patrolman involved, Robert Cobb.

“It’s a true tragedy for that innocent victim to be killed like that,” Robinson said.

During the chase, Cobb wrote down the motorcycle’s license plate number, and Martinez was interviewed by police after the accident, said Robinson.

Martinez, according to Robinson, acknowledged driving the motorcycle that was being chased.

Asked why the district attorney had waited nine months to file a charge, Robinson said: “We wanted to conduct a thorough investigation of the CHP officer’s conduct and Mr. Martinez’s conduct to evaluate any criminal culpability.”

Kasimatis set a bail review for Tuesday and a preliminary hearing for Sept. 30.