Wrongful-death lawsuit filed on behalf of 3 children orphaned by DUI crash in Newport Beach

A wrongful-death lawsuit was filed in Orange County Superior Court late last month on behalf of the three children orphaned by a fatal car crash in Newport Beach.

The civil lawsuit names Newport Beach resident Grace Elizabeth Coleman, the suspected DUI driver arrested in the Dec. 8 collision, and her parents, James and Kelli Coleman, also of Newport Beach, as defendants.

Grace Coleman, 22, is also facing five felony counts: two of murder, two related to driving under the influence of alcohol and one for a hit-and-run collision, the Orange County district attorney’s office said. If convicted of all charges, she could face 34 years and eights months in prison.

Newport Beach police said they received a dispatch call about 7:45 p.m. on Dec. 8 near Newport Coast Drive and South Pelican Hill Road. Department spokeswoman Heather Rangel said in December that officers found a collision involving Coleman’s black Range Rover and a Nissan Versa.

The driver of the Versa, Henry Saldana Mejia, 27, and his wife, Gabriela Andrade, 28, died. The Santa Ana couple’s 1-, 4- and 5-year-old daughters were in the backseat and taken to a hospital to be treated for injuries, police said.

The children have since been released from Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo and are being cared for by their aunt, Dayana Saldana Meija.

The district attorney’s office alleges that the crash happened when Coleman ran a red light. Prosecutors said in December that her blood-alcohol level was more than 0.20%.

Attorneys are accusing the Colemans of wrongful death and negligence. The lawsuit states that Grace Coleman had a duty to not improperly operate her vehicle and that her parents should have known of the possibility that their daughter may drive under the influence, which attorneys say has occurred at least twice in Laguna Beach — once in June 2019 and again in August last year.

Grace Coleman was arrested on suspicion of DUI in August, Kimberly Edds, a spokeswoman for the district attorney’s office, said last month. She’s being charged with misdemeanor DUI counts for that accident, prosecutors said.

In the civil complaint, attorneys are seeking a money judgment for economic and emotional damages incurred as a result of the fatal collision.

Brett Nemeth, one of the two attorneys representing the children, said Monday that no hearing has been scheduled.

Court records do not indicate who the Colemans have hired to provide their defense.

Coleman is expected to appear for arraignment at the Central Justice Center in Santa Ana on Jan. 27, according to jail and court records. She remains in custody.

Nguyen writes for Times Community News.