Moreno Valley woman gets 30 years for causing collision that killed 2 Beaumont residents

Last Updated on July 9, 2021 by CCAR Staff

A Moreno Valley woman was sentenced to 30 years to life in prison on Thursday, July 8, for causing a 2019 drunken driving collision that killed two people in Hemet.

Faalele Rosemarie Patea, who turns 28 on Friday, appeared in Riverside County Superior Court in Banning, where she received 15 years to life for each of the two second-degree murder counts she pleaded guilty to in June as part of an agreement with the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, said John Hall, a DA’s spokesman.

At about 9 p.m. on May 1, 2019, Beaumont residents Joshua Serquina and Kyle Towai, both 22, were in a Honda Civic that was slowing for a red light on Florida Avenue at Warren Road. According to Hemet police, Patea approached from behind, traveling 100 mph in her Volkswagen Jetta. Police said Patea never slowed, rear-ending the Honda and pushing it into another car.

Serquina and Towai were taken to a hospital, where Serquina was pronounced dead on arrival. Towai survived on life support for two days before dying. No one else was reported injured in the crash.

Patea was under the influence of alcohol at the time of the collision, police said.