Doctor Charged in Fatal Crash Sued by Surviving Children
A Laguna Beach physician, already charged with second-degree murder in the auto crash death of a Mission Viejo couple, was sued Thursday for $30 million by their children.
The suit filed here alleges that internist Ronald Joseph Allen, 31, was intoxicated on drugs and alcohol at the time of the crash. The suit also names the car rental company that rented Allen the car he was driving at the time of the accident.
Allen has been bound over for trial next year on the criminal charges. He pleaded not guilty and is being held without bail in Orange County Jail.
Mark and Noreen Minzey died in the accident and their 12-year-old daughter, Karie Ann Marie Minzey was critically injured.
The Minzeys were returning from a softball game on July 11 when the crash occurred on Santiago Canyon Road.
Karie Minzey and her sister, Shelbie Lee Minzey, 15, listed Allen and National Car Rental System Inc., as defendants in their wrongful death lawsuit filed by them through their legal guardian in Orange County Superior Court.
Allen, the suit alleged, “deliberately consumed” alcohol, drugs and other controlled substances, to a point of intoxication.
Defense attorneys have said Allen was suffering from financial problems, stress and depression.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
