California mortgage executive alleged to have killed 88-year-old in drunk driving accident
LOS ANGELES − A mortgage lending executive was arrested on suspicion of murder Friday after allegedly driving through a Southern California intersection and striking a transit van, killing an 88-year-old while drunk, according to police.
The Orange County Sheriff's Office alleged in a Saturday press release that Serene Francie Rosenberg, 48, turned left against a red arrow signal at an intersection in Dana Point, about 60 miles south of Los Angeles, and struck the van head on.
Melvin Joseph Weibel, 88, of Dana Point, was declared dead on the scene, according to the department. The unnamed driver of the van was treated at a local hospital for serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
She was arrested on the scene on suspicion of driving under the influence and murder.
The collision is under investigation by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team. Court records show that Rosenberg faces five charges, including murder and driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury.
The Sheriff's Office said Rosenberg has three prior convictions, though the department did not specify what those convictions were for.
Rosenberg pled guilty to a misdemeanor count of driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08% or more in 2011 and to misdemeanor counts of child abuse and endangerment, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and driving with a blood-alcohol content of .08% or more in 2012, according to Los Angeles radio station KNX.
DUI crash causes lender to remove executive
Rosenberg was placed on administrative leave from her role as President of OCMBC by the wholesale mortgage lender Monday.
"This has been a difficult time for everyone affected by this tragic event, and our hearts go out to those impacted," Rabi Aziz, CEO of OCMBC Inc., said in a press release.
The company named John Hamel, former Chief Capital Markets Officer, to take the role of President.
The company is the eighth-largest wholesale mortgage lender, according to industry publication National Mortgage Professional.
This story has been updated to fix a spelling error