An 18-year-old Costa Mesa driver surrendered to Laguna Beach police on Friday, Aug. 12 after allegedly striking a couple in a lighted crosswalk on South Coast Highway Thursday evening, killing the man.
The driver, identified as Sysillia Morrison Montes De Oca, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and felony hit and run, Lt. Cornelius Ashton said. She was released on $100,000 bail.
Police had issued a photo of the suspect vehicle earlier on Friday, saying they were seeking the driver of a Volkswagen sedan with a model year between 2005 and 2010.
After learning of the alleged driver, police discovered a silver 2009 Volkswagen Jetta “concealed in a garage” in Aliso Viejo, Ashton said. The vehicle has been impounded for evidence.
Police have not said how they found the woman or what Montes De Oca’s relationship is with the owner of the garage.
Detectives believe “speed was a contributing factor,” Ashton said. The speed limit along that stretch of highway through Laguna Beach’s midtown is 35 mph. Police have not said how fast they believe Montes De Oca was driving.
The couple, also from Costa Mesa, was in the crosswalk at Pearl Street and Coast Highway on Thursday at 9:38 p.m. after celebrating their wedding anniversary at nearby Ristorante Rumari.
As they crossed the highway, they were struck by a light-colored sedan as it traveled south, Ashton said.
When officers arrived, they found the 60-year-old man with life-threatening injuries and the 60-year-old woman with moderate injuries. The driver fled, police said, and the car likely had front-end damage based on evidence from the scene.
The couple was taken to Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo where the man, now identified as Stanley Isaacs, died from his injuries. His wife was treated for moderate injuries and released from the hospital Thursday night.
Source: Orange County Register
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