A woman was taken into custody in connection with a hit-and-run accident that occurred in Orange County and resulted in the death of a grandpa.
Using information provided by the Irvine Police Department, the suspect was recognized as Francis Guadalupe Tercero-Benavides, who is 24 years old and hails from Anaheim.
On May 9, 2024, at around 4:30 p.m., the victim, Allen Yangkaou Lee, who was 67 years old at the time, was driving northbound on Culver Drive in the direction of Trabuco Road in Irvine.
The suspect’s vehicle was shown on dash cam footage jutting out across the intersection and making a right turn against a red light as the suspect drove through the intersection. Allen was obliged to make a sharp turn in order to avoid colliding with her as a result of the unexpected movement.
Allen was unable to maintain control of his vehicle before it flipped over as a result of the swerve. In addition to hitting a tree and a light pole, his vehicle also slammed with a center median before coming to rest on its roof.
Although Tercero-Benavides was driving a beige Honda Civic, he did not stop to assist Lee and instead departed the site of the accident. Lee was transported to the hospital by paramedics, but he could not survive his injuries and passed away on May 13th.
Two days later, as the investigators resumed their search for Tercero-Benavides, they got information from members of the public that assisted them in locating her Honda Civic, which was parked on a residential street in Great Park.
Identification documents that belonged to Tercero-Benavides were discovered inside the vehicle. Investigators made efforts to locate the woman, but the process proved to be challenging due to the fact that she was said to move around very regularly.
In the 1600 block of Anaheim Boulevard in Anaheim, Orange County, California, she was found and taken into custody on July 3, 2025. As a result of the allegations of vehicular manslaughter and felony hit-and-run, she was taken into custody and put into the Orange County Jail.
According to officials from the Irvine Police Department, “The department would like to express its gratitude to those individuals who provided crucial information that contributed to the arrest of Tercero-Benavides.”
Lee was remembered by members of his family as a devoted father and grandfather who perpetually gave happiness to people who were a part of his life.
When asked about her father, Elaine Lee, the victim’s daughter, remarked, “He was such a generous and very caring man.” “Everything was about him. It happened so suddenly, and it does feel as like there is a gap in the situation. In an unjust manner, he was taken away from our lives.
