18-year-old unlicensed driver charged in DUI crash that killed mother, injured 3 others
The suspected drunk driver, 18-year-old Roberto Xitlama from Orange, was arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter, according to police. / Orange Police Department
ORANGE, Calif. - A mother was killed and her daughter critically injured after they were struck by a drunk driver in Orange over the weekend.
It happened Sunday just after 8 p.m. at the intersection of Tustin Street and Collins Avenue, according to police.
The mother and her daughter were traveling in a Toyota RAV4 westbound on Collins Avenue on a green light at Tustin Street when they collided with a driver later identified as 18-year-old Roberto Noe Monfil-Xitlama of Orange, who ran a red light in a Chevy Equinox, police said.
The mother from Orange, who was a passenger in the Toyota, died at the scene. Her daughter, who was sitting directly behind her, was taken to the hospital in critical condition. She was later upgraded to serious condition, Lt. Phil McMullin of the Orange Police Department told City News Service.
A 13-year-old also in the Toyota who police said is a friend of the woman's daughter, was hospitalized in serious condition.
The driver of the Toyota, identified as the mother's boyfriend, was also hospitalized in serious condition.
Authorities said Xitlama's blood alcohol content level was more than double the legal limit. He was not injured.
Xitlama was charged with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, and DUI with a blood-alcohol content above the legal limit of .08% or more causing injury, all felonies, and also faces a ticket for driving without a valid driver's license.
The investigation is ongoing.