France’s Alcohol Level Above Limit : Courts: Former Ram’s blood tested at .13. Charges will be sought in auto crash that killed a Laguna Hills woman.

Former Ram offensive lineman Doug France had a blood-alcohol level of at least .13--well above the legal limit of .08--when he was involved in a two-car crash that killed a Laguna Hills woman, the California Highway Patrol said Tuesday.

Officer Ken Daily said additional tests conducted by CHP’s skid-speed experts revealed that France was driving his 1987 BMW at a minimum speed of 81 m.p.h. when it rammed head-on into a car driven by Maria Conception Contreras. Contreras, 53, was killed in the accident.

The posted speed limit on winding Aliso Hills Drive, where the accident occurred Saturday, is 45 m.p.h., said Daily, who added that samples of France’s blood were taken three hours after the crash.

The CHP will use the results of the blood-alcohol tests to recommend to the Orange County District Attorney’s office that France be charged with felony manslaughter and felony drunken driving. Daily said the charges might be filed by early next week.

France was listed in serious condition with a concussion and a broken pelvis at the Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo.

Martin Walker, one of France’s friends, said Tuesday that the two-time all-pro was driving to his townhome in the Crestline complex when he struck Contreras’ 1989 Mazda 323. France had “a few drinks” while he watched the NBA playoffs at a friend’s home, Walker said.

France and Contreras were neighbors at Crestline, located on Aliso Hills Drive. France, who owns an office supply company in Irvine, lives with his wife and two sons.

Contreras’ 22-year-old daughter, Grasie, said her mother had left home on an errand before the crash.

“She was a really kind person,” Contreras said. “She touched the lives of many people.”

Contreras said neither she nor her sister, Angie, 29, had been contacted by France’s family since the crash.

Contreras said she and her sister were not bitter about the accident, although her mother’s death may force them to sell their townhouse.

“We rely on God,” she said, noting that her mother was a devout Jehovah’s Witness. “We know that there’s going to be justice.”