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Newport Coast woman pleads guilty in fatal crash

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A Newport Coast woman who killed a cyclist while driving drunk and texting pleaded guilty Tuesday in Orange County Superior Court to one felony count of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

Danae Marie Miller, 23, was sentenced to four years in state prison for killing Amine Britel of Newport Coast, according to a statement from the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Her driver’s license will also be revoked for three years for the Feb. 21, 2011 crash.

Miller drove her Volkswagen Jetta into the bike lane on San Joaquin Hills Road in the Spy Glass Road area and collided with Britel, who died at the scene. He was 41.

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At the time of the accident, police said Miller was drinking at her workplace, Zinc Cafe & Market in Corona del Mar, before driving home that evening.

Court records show Miller had 15 traffic citations prior to the fatal crash that killed Britel.

Two hours after the crash, Miller had a blood alcohol content of about .10 — above the legal limit of .08, police said at the time.

Britel, who emigrated from Morocco, earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from UC Berkeley and an MBA from Harvard, according to a website created in his memory. He ran a travel agency in Newport Coast.

Britel was an avid sportsman, who at one time played soccer in France, competed in the 2002 and 2009 World Triathlon Championships, and was a member of the 4-by-400 relay team at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, according to the site.

— Lauren Williams

Twitter: @lawilliams30

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