Driver in custody and stable condition

Bryce Alderton

James Paul Bell Jr., 27, remains in the custody of the Orange County

Sheriff’s Department at UCI Medical more than a week after reportedly

broadsiding a car carrying three teenage girls.

Bell, whose condition has been upgraded to stable, was the sole

survivor of the collision, which claimed the lives of Chelsea Toma, 19,

Jillian Baedeker, 19, and Nancy Le, 18.

Police say Bell was driving his 1983 Ford Mustang through the

intersection of Beach Boulevard and Edinger Avenue just before midnight

on March 20 when he allegedly struck the Nissan Sentra carrying the three

girls, who were driving home from a Starbucks Coffee shop.

Huntington Beach Police believe Bell drove through a red light, but

the investigation is ongoing.

Bell was arrested on suspicion of felony drunk driving, but no charges

have been filed yet.

He could face charges ranging from manslaughter to second degree

murder, said officer Robert Barr of the Huntington Beach Police

Department.

According to the Huntington Beach Police Department and California

Department of Motor Vehicles, Bell had two prior traffic violations,

neither involving alcohol.

Bell’s family could not be reached for comment.