Orange County Sheriff’s deputies this week arrested a 24-year-old man on suspicion of murder in connection with a March 2017 crash in Mission Viejo that killed a 33-year-old woman, sheriff’s officials announced.
Afiff Kevin Doaifi was arrested Sept. 13 and was being held at the Orange County Jail on $1 million bail, officials said.
About noon March 25, 2017, Doaifi was driving a Chevrolet Camaro eastbound on Alicia Parkway when he struck a 2005 Hyundai Elantra making a left turn to travel southbound on Althea Avenue, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said in a news release.
The intersection does not have street lights.
The Elantra driver, Judith Noval of Mission Viejo, was unconscious at the scene and was taken to a local hospital. Noval never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead a month later, April 25, 2017.
The Sheriff’s Department’s Traffic Division investigated the case and found the Doaifi was traveling at an excessive rate of speed, which caused the collision, authorities said.
In December 2014, Doaifi had been convicted of speeding greater than 100 miles per hour and was ordered to pay a $500 fine, court records show.
“(A) deputy went to court and obtained audio recordings from the courtroom where the suspect … admitted he knew the dangers of his actions and driving at excessive speed,” said Carrie Braun, spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department.
Court records show five other driving-related infractions against Doaifi since April 2013, including unsafe speed and exceeding a 65 mile-per-hour speed limit. He completed traffic school twice and paid a pair of fines, according to records. One of the cases was dismissed.
Doaifi is scheduled to appear in court in connection with the Mission Viejo crash on Monday, Sept. 17, officials said.