Woman Pleads Guilty in DUI Crash That Killed Parents In Newport Beach

NEWPORT BEACH, CA — A woman pleaded guilty Friday to driving under the influence in a Newport Beach crash that killed two parents and hospitalized their three young daughters in 2020, authorities announced.

Grace Elizabeth Coleman, 23, will be sentenced July 29 after accepting a plea deal of 21 years to life in prison, her attorney John Barnett said.

To Orange County Superior Court Judge Gregg Prickett, Coleman pleaded guilty to the following felonies:

• Second-degree murder.
• Single counts each of driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury.
• A DUI with a blood-alcohol content exceeding the legal limit of .08 percent or more causing injury.
• Failure to stop at a hit-and-run with injury or death.

She also pleaded guilty of misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood-alcohol content in excess of the legal limit.

Without the plea deal, Coleman could have faced up to 42 years and eight months to life in prison if convicted at trial.

Henry Eduardo Saldana-Mejia, 27, of Santa Ana, and his wife, Gabriela M. Andrade were both pronounced dead at the scene on the night of the deadly collision in Newport Beach, Dec. 8, 2020.

Their three children were riding in the back seat of a sedan when Coleman "possibly" ran a red light, Heather Rangel, a spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Police Department said.

According to a GoFundMe page created by Andrade's sister, the family had been admiring holiday lights in the area that night, and the victims' daughters, who are 1, 3 and 5 years old, were dressed in "their Christmas pajamas."

The effort has raised $126,721 of its $150,000 goal. Santa Ana police also raised $8,000 to help the children and bought toys for them for Christmas, said former Santa Ana Police Department Cpl. Anthony Bertagna. They all suffered broken legs and the oldest also had broken arms, Bertagna said.

See the GoFundMe for the children here.

The girls have been living with their mother's sister and also spend time with their father's sister in Santa Ana, according to a Friday update from the page.

"The girls are doing well," wrote Brett Nemeth on the GoFundMe page. "They do have setbacks but they are doing well because of the love they get from so many family members. A surgery in anticipated for one of girls in the future.

This was not Coleman's first DUI arrest, authorities said. She was reportedly arrested in August of 2020 on a misdemeanor DUI, prompting prosecutors to file second-degree murder charges. A DUI-fueled fatal crash would typically lead to manslaughter charges, but they are often upgraded to murder with a prior arrest or conviction for DUI.

Coleman was also involved in a hit-and-run in June of last year when she struck a parked car and then fled the scene because of "intoxication," according to attorney Jeff Roberts.

Coleman was driving a black Range Rover southbound on Newport Coast Drive when the SUV collided with the victims' Nissan Versa as Saldana was turning onto Pelican Hills Road South at 7:46 p.m., according to Heather Rangel, a spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Police Department.

READ MORE: Orphaned Girls' Family Sues Suspected Newport Beach DUI Driver

City News Service contributed to this report.

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