Driver accused of Newport Beach crash sued on behalf of 3 children left orphaned

Orange County Register (CA)

Dec. 28—Attorneys representing three girls orphaned when their parents were killed in a recent Newport Beach crash have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the driver charged with causing the collision.

The civil complaint filed late last week in Orange County Superior Court against 22-year-old Grace Coleman also names her parents — James and Kelli Coleman — and alleges they share responsibility because they owned and allowed their daughter to drive the Range Rover involved in the collision.

Grace Coleman is facing second-degree murder, DUI and hit-and-run counts related to the Dec. 8 crash in Newport Beach, as well as misdemeanor DUI counts following an Aug. 29 arrest in Laguna Beach.

According to one of the attorneys involved in the new civil lawsuit, Coleman was also allegedly involved in a hit-and-run with a parked vehicle in June 2019 that was being handled through insurance, and had a history of posting photos of herself holding alcohol or drinking on social media.

"All the while she is living with her parents and driving their vehicle," said Jeff Roberts, one of the attorneys who filed the civil lawsuit. "Grace Coleman needed help, not a Range Rover. Her parents should not have allowed her access to their vehicle, yet they did."

It wasn't clear if Coleman or her family have hired attorneys to represent them in the civil case. Family members did not respond to a request for comment sent through her criminal defense attorneys.

Prosecutors allege that the night of the fatal crash, Coleman had been driven home from a brewery then got into the Range Rover. She is accused of running a red light at Pelican Hill Road South and Newport Coast Drive and colliding with a Nissan Versa.

The driver of the Versa, Henry Saldana-Mejia, 27, and his wife, Gabriela Andrade, 28, were killed. The Santa Ana couple's 1-,4-, and 5-year-old children — who were secured in car seats — were injured in the crash, authorities said.

The three girls left the hospital on Dec. 15 after being treated for what the lawsuit describes as "multiple broken legs and head injuries." According to their family, the physical health of the girls has continued to improve.

A relative has agreed to serve as a foster parent for the girls, and is petitioning to be their permanent guardian, a declaration filed with the lawsuit says.

Roberts said the lawsuit — which seeks an unspecified amount of monetary damages — is meant to make sure the girls get the help they need.

"I want to set them up to be taken care of, primarily financially, in place of what mom and dad would have been there to provide," Roberts said. "It's so unfortunate that the only thing that is available is money."

Roberts said he feels sorry not only for the girls and their family, but also for Coleman, who the attorney described as having "ruined her life."

"It is a tragedy on so many levels," Roberts said.

Coleman is being held without the chance for bail after a judge last week refused a request by her attorneys to have her placed in a residential treatment facility. Her criminal defense attorneys have declined to comment on the criminal case.

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