Man pleads guilty to fatal DUI in Huntington Beach

A 28-year-old Costa Mesa man has pleaded guilty and was sentenced to four years in prison for a fatal DUI collision in Huntington Beach, according to court records obtained Monday.

Christopher Ellis Johnstone pleaded guilty Friday to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, driving under the influence of a drug causing injury and inflicting great bodily injury on the victim. He was given credit for 791 days behind bars awaiting trial.

Johnstone was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe on Memorial Day in 2021 just before 6 p.m. when the SUV collided with a 1975 Honda motorcycle on Beach Boulevard north of Liberty Drive, police said.

The motorcycle rider, 26-year-old Chanel Garcia of Newport Beach, was taken in critical condition to an area hospital, where she died later from her injuries, Carey said.

Johnstone was driving behind the motorcycle southbound on Beach Boulevard when she slowed for a traffic signal and was rear-ended by the Tahoe, Carey said.