ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – Authorities say a man driving without a license and under the influence of alcohol caused a crash that killed a mother and injured her young daughter in Orange on Sunday night.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Tustin Street and Collins Avenue, where the 18-year-old driver ran a red light in a Chevrolet Equinox and slammed into a red Toyota RAV4 carrying four people, according to the Orange Police Department.
A woman in the passenger seat of the RAV4, identified by family members as Maria Arroyo, sustained fatal injuries. Her 13-year-old daughter, who was sitting behind her, was taken to a hospital in critical condition, police said.
Another 13-year-old girl, a friend of Arroyo’s daughter, and the man driving the Toyota, Arroyo’s boyfriend, were transported to local hospitals in serious but stable condition.
Police identified the driver of the Equinox as Roberto Noe Monfil Xitlama, 18, who was taken to a hospital but did not suffer serious injuries.
“During a preliminary alcohol breath test, the suspect’s blood alcohol level was more than double the legal limit,” police said in a statement.
Xitlama was arrested for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and booked into the Orange County Jail. Police told KTLA’s Chip Yost that he was unlicensed and identified only through a Mexican passport.
A GoFundMe campaign for Arroyo, a mother of three, has been organized to help her family with the cost of laying her to rest.