MISSION VIEJO : Ball Fields Named in Couple’s Memory

The softball fields at De Portola Elementary School were named this weekend in memory of Mark and Noreen Minzey, who were killed in a head-on collision by an alleged drunk driver last July while returning home from their daughter Karie’s softball all-star game.

An emotion-filled ceremony to name the fields was held before a crowd of 1,200 Saturday that had gathered for the 22nd annual opening day of the Mission de Oro Bobby Sox League. The Mission Viejo couple were volunteer coaches in the league, while 12-year-old Karie--injured seriously in the crash--was a star player.

“It was very special,” Connie Beaty, president of the league, said of the ceremony.

It was a difficult ceremony for many in the league who were close to the Minzeys, including the Rodriguez family, whose daughters Jackie and Danielle were involved in the collision but suffered minor injuries, Beaty said.

The crash occurred July 11 on Santiago Canyon Road as the Minzey family and Rodriguez children returned home from a softball tournament. Second-degree murder and driving under the influence charges are pending against Ronald Joseph Allen Jr., 31, an internist with a history of arrests, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.

Friends said Karie Minzey has made remarkable progress since the crash and is living with her 15-year-old sister, Shelby, with their aunt and uncle in Marietta, Ga. Shelby was not involved in the crash.

Special awards will also be given in the league each year in memory of Mark and Noreen Minzey, and to honor the special player qualities of Karie. A special Minzey Field sign, bought with donations from Lamppost Pizza, will be installed at the entrance of the field, which is the home of the 350-member Bobby Sox league.