Meskell was involved in another hit-and-run collision March 11, 2025, at about 11:40 p.m. near Bradcliff Drive about three miles away from the deadly crash, Birney said.
In that collision, a Toyota pick-up truck that was unoccupied was rear- ended and slammed into a tree, Birney said. Investigators tracked down a license plate number for a 2018 Toyota Prius registered to the defendant’s father, Birney said.
The defendant’s mother told investigators that her son struggled with schizophrenia and that she would let him sleep in their car after he got kicked out of shelters, Birney said. Meskell was not allowed to drive the car, however, Birney said.
Meskell told his mother that he had the accident with the pickup truck as he was trying to recline the driver’s seat to sleep, Birney said.
A resident who saw the Prius with front-end damage took a picture of the car with Meskell behind the wheel as it was parked in north Tustin and called police, Birney added.