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Background: News footage of the scene of the car crash in May that killed Braun Levi (KTLA). Inset: Braun Levi (Instagram).
The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office has formally accused 33-year-old Jenia Resha Belt of second-degree murder. This announcement comes via a press release from the Manhattan Beach Police Department. Belt was apprehended on December 23, several months after her initial arrest on May 4 at the crash site that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Braun Levi. She is currently being held on a $2 million bail.
According to police reports, Belt was driving under the influence when her SUV collided with Levi, who was walking with a friend across Sepulveda Boulevard in Manhattan Beach, California. The incident occurred in the early hours of May 4, at around 12:45 a.m. At the time, Belt’s driver’s license had been suspended due to a prior DUI arrest earlier in 2023.
First responders arrived to find Levi severely injured on the roadway. Despite their efforts, he was later pronounced dead at the hospital, succumbing to the injuries sustained in the accident.
First responders found Levi in the road. He was transported to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
According to court records obtained by the Los Angeles Times, Belt had a blood alcohol level almost twice the legal limit at the time of the collision. She was arrested at the scene after the four passengers in her vehicle fled. Belt was released from custody in June, but arrested again months later, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Levi was a high school tennis star whose family lost their home in the Palisades wildfires in January. They had just moved to Manhattan Beach four months before tragedy struck the family again. Levi’s family started a foundation in memory of their late son.
In November, Levi’s family filed a $200 million wrongful death lawsuit against Belt.
Belt is charged with second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and driving with a suspended license. She is scheduled to be arraigned in Los Angeles County on Dec. 31.
