FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Case # 17WF1682
Date: August 10, 2017
MAN CHARGED WITH VEHICULAR MANSLAUGHTER FOR KILLING 19-YEAR-OLD GERMAN TOURIST WHILE DRIVING HIGH ON METHAMPHETAMINE
SANTA ANA, Calif. – A man was charged yesterday with vehicular manslaughter for killing a 19-year-old German tourist while driving high on methamphetamine in Seal Beach.
|
Defendant |
Charges |
Maximum Sentence |
Court Date |
|
Matthew Ryan Wood, 25, Seal Beach |
Felony
|
12 years in state prison |
Arraignment Aug. 11, 2017, 10:00 a.m. Department CJ-1, Central Jail, Santa Ana |
Circumstances of the Case
- On Dec. 9, 2016, at approximately 2:00 p.m., the defendant is accused of driving eastbound on Westminster Avenue in the city of Seal Beach.
- Wood is accused of swerving over the center median, into the westbound lanes of Westminster Avenue and colliding head-on with a Kia Sedona.
- The driver of the Sedona, 19-year-old German tourist Lisa Schelborn, was pronounced deceased at the scene.
- The defendant was transported to UC Irvine Medical Center in critical condition.
- At the time of the collision, Wood is accused of driving under the influence of methamphetamine, attempting to transport methamphetamine for sale, and being in possession of a firearm while carrying a controlled substance.
- Seal Beach Police Department investigated this case and arrested the defendant on Aug. 9, 2017.
Prosecutor: Senior Deputy District Attorney Dan Feldman, Homicide Unit.