Wrongful-death suit filed against Grace Coleman and her parents

Twenty-two-year-old Grace Coleman, a graduate of Laguna Beach High School, has been named in a wrongful-death lawsuit that resulted from a suspected DUI traffic collision in which the parents of three young girls were killed.

The incident occurred on December 8 in Newport Coast when Coleman, of Newport Beach, was suspected of running a red light, killing Henry Salana-Mejia, 27, and his wife, Gabriela Andrade, 28, both of Santa Ana. Their deaths left the couple’s three children, ages 5, 4, and 1, orphaned. 

The children were also severely injured.

In addition to Coleman, the lawsuit also names her parents, James and Kelli Coleman, also of Newport Beach, alleging that they share responsibility because they own the vehicle involved in the collision and allowed their daughter access.

Courtesy of LBPD

Grace Coleman

The attorney for the children, Jeff Roberts, of Roberts/Jeandron Law, LLP, in Newport Beach, said, “Instead of punishing the accused, this case is about taking care of the family that’s left behind. It’s about holding other people accountable that enabled her to be in the vehicle at the time. She (Coleman) was living with her parents and had a previous incident where her vehicle would have been impounded, so we have no doubt that her parents (who owned the vehicle) knew about her drinking.” 

Roberts also noted that they became aware of Coleman’s social media posts that reportedly showed a “recurring theme of a party girl with alcohol in several of her pictures.”

“This is a 22-year-old girl that had a drinking problem and instead of getting her help, she was given a Range Rover,” said Roberts.

Coleman was previously arrested by the Laguna Beach Police Department on August 29, 2020 for an alleged DUI.

On the night of this last collision, it is alleged that Coleman was driven home from a brewery after reportedly drinking excessively, only to then drive the family’s Range Rover. Soon thereafter she reportedly collided with Salana-Meija’s Versa. Coleman was also accused by Newport Beach Police of attempting to flee the scene of the accident, only to be arrested a short distance away.

Coleman was charged with two counts of murder, among other charges, and issued a no-bail order. Her attorneys attempted to have her released last month to a residential treatment facility but that was denied.