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The president of a California mortgage company was arrested for allegedly driving drunk and causing the vehicular death of an 88-year-old man.

ABC News reports that Serene Vernon, president of OCMBC Inc., was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and charged with murder and DUI causing injury following a collision last Friday in Dana Point, a suburb of Los Angeles. According to a police report, Vernon was driving a Land Rover that was “traveling westbound on Stonehill Drive and turned left against a red arrow signal in front of the Ford Transit van traveling eastbound on Stonehill Drive.”

Melvin Joseph Weibel, the 88-year-old passenger in the Ford Transit van, was pronounced dead at the scene while the van’s driver was hospitalized with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

OCMBC issued a statement that said, “Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this heartbreaking event and we intend to monitor the situation closely, responding with care and responsibility in accordance with our company’s core values.”

The company added that Vernon was placed on administrative leave while John Hamel, its former chief capital markets officer, assumed the role of president.

Photo courtesy of Serene Vernon’s Facebook page

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