Crime & Safety

Man Sentenced For DUI Crash That Killed Newport Beach Woman

The Costa Mesa man pleaded guilty for the fatal DUI crash that killed a 26-year-old woman on a motorcycle.

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — A Costa Mesa man pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison for a DUI crash that killed a Newport Beach woman in Huntington Beach in 2021, according to county court records.

Christopher Ellis Johnstone, 28, pleaded guilty Friday to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of a drug causing injury and inflicting great bodily injury on the victim. He was given credit for 791 days behind bars awaiting trial.

Johnstone was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe on Memorial Day in 2021 shortly before 6 p.m. when the SUV crashed with a 1975 Honda motorcycle on Beach Boulevard north of Liberty Drive, police said.

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The motorcycle rider was taken to a local hospital in critical condition, where she later died. She was later identified as 26-year-old Chanel Garcia of Newport Beach.

According to the Huntington Beach Police Department, Johnstone was driving behind the motorcycle southbound on Beach Boulevard Garcia slowed for a traffic signal and was rear-ended by the Tahoe.

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No further information was immediately available.

City News Service contributed to this report.

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