NEWPORT BEACH : Car Crash Kills Man; Driver, 24, is Held
A man was killed early Wednesday when the car in which he was a passenger went out of control and crashed on Coast Highway, police said.
The victim, whose name has not been released pending notification of his relatives, was trapped inside the car after the 2:30 a.m. accident, which occurred just west of Balboa Blvd.
The driver, 24-year-old Jennifer Merry, managed to climb out of the mangled car on her own before help arrived. She was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, Newport police Sgt. Andy Gonis said, adding that the crash may have been alcohol-related.
Merry was driving east on Coast Highway when her car jumped onto the center median, careened across the eastbound lanes, went up a curb, crashed into a concrete pole and finally landed upside down, Gonis said.
Merry was treated for injuries at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana.
She is being held at Orange County Jail on $25,000 bail.
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