Woman Hit, Killed in Parking Structure

A domestic disturbance may have fueled the anger of an Aliso Viejo man who police say deliberately plowed his sport-utility vehicle into a parked vehicle on Monday, killing a woman walking to her car.

George William Carter II, 34, was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after he pinned the woman with his Ford Expedition against a Mercedes SUV in his apartment building’s parking structure, authorities said. Elizabeth Leon Noverola, 37, of Aliso Viejo was pronounced dead at the scene.

Minutes before the wreck, Orange County sheriff’s deputies were called to Carter’s apartment, where he lives with his girlfriend, on a complaint of disturbing the peace. Authorities late Monday were investigating whether there was a connection between the two, sheriff’s spokesman Jim Amormino said.

Carter was barefoot and shirtless when he was arrested about 8:30 a.m., witnesses said. Investigators believe Carter didn’t know Noverola, whose car was parked next to the Mercedes in the six-story parking structure.

Residents of the City Lights apartments in the 9200 block of City Lights Drive said Carter, a father of two, had been acting strangely before the crash.

“There was no question that he made no attempt to stop the vehicle,” Amormino said. “He definitely wanted to crash his vehicle, but we’re not sure why.”

Carter’s mother described him as a “good person” with a “kind heart.”

Lilli Carter of Laguna Hills disputed television reports that depicted him as emotionally troubled.

Deputies cordoned off a portion of the parking structure’s second floor to conduct their investigation, leaving some residents unable to remove their cars.

Claudia Vasquez, 23, said she was leaving her apartment when she heard a vehicle loudly going over several speed bumps. “Then we heard a big crash,” she said.

Carter has a state teaching credential, but it was not immediately known whether he was employed as a teacher.

Noverola was a designer at RoomScapes Inc., a Laguna Niguel company that makes custom cabinets and does interior woodwork.

Rick Nassetta, RoomScapes’ owner, said he and Noverola’s co-workers suspected something was wrong when she didn’t come to work Monday. By midmorning, a co-worker was sent to her apartment to check on her.

Noverola was “a happy person, lighthearted,” Nassetta said.

“It’s just a total shock.”

After hearing that Noverola had been involved in an accident, Nassetta and several co-workers went to the parking structure where they learned from deputies that she had died.

While investigators took measurements and photos of the crash scene, the group huddled near a concrete post and consoled one another.

Times staff writer Tonya Alanez contributed to this report.