Coroner IDs Woman Killed In Garden Grove Crash

GARDEN GROVE, CA — A 59-year-old Garden Grove woman who was killed in a three-vehicle crash in Garden Grove involving a 27-year-old man arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs was identified today by the Orange County coroner's office.

Police and paramedics responded to the intersection of Chapman Avenue and Euclid Street at 1:30 p.m. Wednesday and found a white 2017 Honda had rear- ended a second vehicle stopped at a red light at the intersection, triggering a chain reaction causing the second vehicle to hit a third vehicle, according to Master Officer Paul Ashby of the Garden Grove Police Department.

A woman, identified as Julie Varley, who was driving the second vehicle was unconscious and not breathing when paramedics found her. Varley was taken to a hospital where she was pronounced dead, according to Ashby and the coroner's office.

The driver of the first vehicle suffered undisclosed injuries and was taken to a hospital in unknown condition. Neither of the two people in the third vehicle were injured, police said.

A preliminary investigation determined the man driving the first vehicle was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash, Ashby said.

``Due to the severity of his injuries, he was released to the care of the hospital pending criminal charges,'' Ashby said.

The arrestee's name was not immediately available.

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