A Costa Mesa woman has been convicted of gross vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run for a crash that killed a 60-year-old man and injured his wife as the couple crossed South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach, California. Prosecutors said Sysillia Kianna Morrison Montes De Oca, who was 18 years old at the time, was speeding and had allegedly smoked marijuana before striking Stanley Isaacs and his wife, Catherina, in a marked crosswalk at Pearl Street on the night of August 11, 2022. Isaacs died from his injuries, while his wife was treated for less severe injuries. Morrison Montes De Oca fled the scene after the crash and later searched online for information about fatal hit-and-run cases, according to prosecutors. She now faces sentencing in November 2026.

According to MyNewsLA.com, a jury convicted Morrison Montes De Oca, now 22, of gross vehicular manslaughter, hit-and-run causing permanent and serious injury, and failing to stop at the scene of a hit-and-run involving injury or death. Deputy District Attorney Justin Kim told jurors the defendant warned other passengers in her car that she planned to speed up moments before hitting the couple. The Laguna Beach Police Department said at the time of her arrest that investigators had not ruled out drugs or alcohol and believed speeding was a contributing factor, according to the Laguna Beach Indy. Morrison Montes De Oca is scheduled to be sentenced on November 13, 2026.