An 18-year-old accused of causing an alcohol-fueled crash earlier this week at an Orange intersection that killed a mother and critically injured her daughter is now facing vehicular manslaughter and DUI-related criminal charges.
Roberto Noe Monfil Xitlama was charged Tuesday, Oct. 1, with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and two felony counts related to a DUI causing injury and accused of driving without a valid license, according to Orange County Superior Court records.
According to police, Xitlama was driving a Chevy Equinox south on Tustin Street about 8 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 29, when he ran a red light at Collins Avenue and broadsided a Toyota Rav4 that had been traveling west on Collins through a green light.
Maria Minerva Arroyo-Lozada, a 40-year-old Orange resident, was sitting in the front-passenger seat of the Rav4 and was killed. Her daughter, sitting behind her mother, was critically injured. The daughter’s condition has since improved, police said on Wednesday.
The mother’s boyfriend, who was driving the Rav4, and a 13-year-old friend of the daughter’s sitting behind the driver’s seat were also hospitalized.
According to a criminal complaint, Xitlama had a blood-alcohol content of 0.18 percent, more than twice the legal limit for driving.
Xitlama was taken to a hospital after the crash, but police said he was not seriously injured.
Police previously indicated that Xitlama did not have a valid driver’s license with him and was identified by a Mexican passport.
Xitlama appeared in court on Tuesday, records show, but did not enter a plea. His bail was set at $500,000. He is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 18.
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