Man Who Struck, Killed 83-Year-Old Woman With Her Car In OC Convicted

SANTA ANA, CA — A 35-year-old man was convicted Thursday of running over and killing an 82-year-old woman as she was taking in her trash cans in unincorporated Santa Ana.

Brennan Kyle Meskell was convicted of a felony count of hit-and-run with death. But jurors deadlocked 9-3 for guilt on a count of second-degree murder, so a mistrial was declared on that count and a hearing was scheduled Oct. 26 for a retrial.

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Meskell was convicted of killing Margarito Ramos. He struck her while driving his parents' Toyota Prius on March 11 of last year, but Ramos hung on until she died in a hospital on March 22.

Ramos was taking in the trash bins at about 12:30 p.m. in her driveway at 13052 Wheeler Place when she was struck by the car, according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Mark Birney's trial brief.

Surveillance video from a neighbor's home showed the Prius passing Ramos, but then circling back in the cul-de-sac and driving toward the victim as the driver accelerated and ran her over, Birney said.

Meskell then turned right, ran over a mailbox and got back on the road and left the area, Birney said.

Ramos suffered bleeding in the brain as well as broken ribs and a broken pelvis, the prosecutor said.

Ramos managed to tell investigators in the emergency room that she was struck by a white car while taking her trash cans in, Birney said.

California Highway Patrol investigators, who took over the case from the Orange County Sheriff's Department, found leads to the suspect car through various surveillance videos in the area, Birney said.

Meskell was involved in another hit-and-run collision March 11, 2025, at about 11:40 p.m. near Bradcliff Drive about three miles away from the deadly crash, Birney said.

In that collision, a Toyota pick-up truck that was unoccupied was rear- ended and slammed into a tree, Birney said. Investigators tracked down a license plate number for a 2018 Toyota Prius registered to the defendant's father, Birney said.

The defendant's mother told investigators that her son struggled with schizophrenia and that she would let him sleep in their car after he got kicked out of shelters, Birney said. Meskell was not allowed to drive the car, however, Birney said.

Meskell told his mother that he had the accident with the pickup truck as he was trying to recline the driver's seat to sleep, Birney said.

A resident who saw the Prius with front-end damage took a picture of the car with Meskell behind the wheel as it was parked in north Tustin and called police, Birney added.

The damaged Prius was found in a Tustin body shop on March 17 of last year.