A 27-year-old Fountain Valley man who was facing charges of driving under the influence of drugs in a deadly collision in Garden Grove took his own life, police said Thursday.
Kyle Michael Morey was hospitalized and underwent surgery last week after allegedly causing a three-vehicle, chain-reaction crash that killed 59-year-old Julie Varley of Garden Grove, said Garden Grove Police Department Lt. Carl Whitney.
Morey’s white 2017 Honda rear-ended Varley’s vehicle at a red light eastbound on Chapman Avenue at Euclid Street about 1:30 p.m. April 15, Whitney said. Varley’s vehicle then collided with a third vehicle, Whitney said.
Varley was rushed to UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, where she was pronounced dead, Whitney said.
The driver and passenger in the third vehicle escaped injury, Whitney said.
Morey was released from the hospital, but his medical condition prevented him from being booked at Orange County Jail at that time, according to Whitney.
Garden Grove police and Orange County District Attorney’s Office were working together to file a criminal complaint against Morey.
Westminster Police Department officers went to the Executives Suites Motel at 6732 Westminster Blvd. about 11:55 p.m. Tuesday to investigate a report of a possible suicide, according to Master Officer Paul Ashby of the Garden Grove Police Department.
They found Morey’s body with a note, Ashby said. Investigators believe he killed himself by taking narcotics.
The coroner’s office pronounced the time of death as earlier that afternoon, according to Ashby.