Driver in fatal traffic collision faces two felony counts

By Doug Spoon, Editor

The driver of the vehicle that ran a red light and caused a fatality in a collision on Newport Road Tuesday was arrested on Thursday and will face two felony charges when he is released from the hospital, authorities said.

The Menifee man, identified as Gabriel Derain, was initially transported in critical condition but his condition has improved and he is expected to be released in a few days, according to a Menifee Police Department news release. At that time, he will be booked on felony charges of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and DUI causing injury to another with a blood alcohol level above 0.08, police said.

A Menifee woman, whose name has not been released by the Coroner’s Office, died from injuries suffered in Tuesday’s 3 p.m. collision, which shut down Newport Road at Berea Road for more than three hours. She was heading south on Berea Road and in the process of turning left onto Newport when a Ford SUV traveling westbound collided with her vehicle, according to police.

A police officer on scene performed CPR and firefighters had to extricate the woman from her vehicle. She was transported to a local hospital, where she later died.