The Orange County Sheriffs Department made an announcement on Saturday of the successful arrest of a woman who is suspected of driving under the influence, followed by her involvement in a head-on collision which resulted in the fatal outcome of an 88-year-old man in Dana Point. The incident occurred at the crossing of Golden Lantern Street and Stonehill Drive around 6:15 p.m. on Friday. Deputies responded to the scene following the distress calls.
Upon arrival, deputies witnessed an alarming scene where a Land Rover SUV had crashed head-on into a Ford Transit van. Initial investigations suggested that the driver of the Land Rover, identified as 48-year-old Serene Francie Rosenberg of Dana Point, was on her westward course on Stonehill Drive when she ignored a red arrow signal and swerved left, causing the collision with the eastward moving Ford Transit van.
As a direct impact of the crash, a passenger from the Transit van was fatally wounded. The deceased was later identified as Melvin Joseph Weibel, 88, from Dana Point. Deputies, shortly after arriving at the scene, announced Weibel dead. The driver of the van was found with grave, albeit non-life-threatening injuries, and was promptly taken to a local health facility.
Rosenberg was arrested under suspicion of driving under the influence, exacerbated by her three prior convictions. The charges of murder and a DUI causing injury helped book her into the Orange County Jail. The incident is currently under investigation by the Orange County Sheriffs Departments Major Accident Investigation Team (MAIT). The Traffic Bureau of the Orange County Sheriffs Departments encourages anyone privy to additional information to come forward or to contact the Orange County Crime Stoppers at 1-855-TIP-OCCS, where anonymous information may also be disclosed.
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