Man Facing Murder Charges for Coast Highway Hit-and-Run

A 23-year-old Huntington Beach man was facing a second-degree murder charge today in the alleged hit-and-run death of a bicycle rider in Newport Beach.

Neil Storm Stephany was arrested, booted on suspicion of felony drunken driving and denied bail in the roughly 5 p.m. accident Sunday on East Coast Highway, according to Orange County Jail Records. A jailer said he worked as a counselor with Narcotics Anonymous.

Stephany also was booked on suspicion of hit and run, drug possession and possession of drug paraphernalia, Jennifer Manzella of the Newport Beach Police Department said.

Stephany has a conviction for driving under the influence, and Newport Beach police intend to seek a second-degree murder charge, Manzella said. First- time DUI convicts are told they could be charged with murder if they end up killing someone while driving intoxicated.

Shaun Eagleson, 30, of Fountain Valley, who was riding west when Stepany’s westbound vehicle struck him near Los Trancos, was taken to a hospital where he was declared dead about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, Manzella said.

Stephany was arrested at Newport Center Drive and East Coast Highway, Manzella said.

--City News Service

PHOTO Patch file photo.

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