Jenia Belt, the 33-year-old alleged DUI driver accused of killing Loyola High School senior Braun Levi, 18, was reportedly driving on a license suspended for a previous drunk-driving arrest, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The 33-year-old woman was arrested May 4 on suspicion of DUI and homicide after reportedly striking and killing the teen at around 12:45 a.m. near the intersection of Sepulveda Boulevard and Ronda Drive in Manhattan Beach.
When first responders arrived, Levi was lying in the street next to Belt’s silver Infiniti SUV.
He was rushed by ambulance to the hospital where officials with the Manhattan Beach Police Department said he succumbed to his injuries and was declared deceased.
According to The Times, Belt’s license was suspended by the state Department of Motor Vehicles in Jan. 2024 for a DUI-related charge in Nov. 2023. The 33-year-old pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor hit-and-run with property damage. In a plea deal with prosecutors, the DUI-related charges were dropped, she was ordered to pay restitution and sentenced to a year of probation.
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Undated photos of Braun Levi, friends and family at left at a growing memorial at the Manhattan Beach crash site. (KTLA) -
The 33-year-old suspect being taken into custody after a deadly Manhattan Beach crash on May 4, 2025. (OnScene.TV) -
The 33-year-old suspect being taken into custody after a deadly Manhattan Beach crash on May 4, 2025. (OnScene.TV) -
The 33-year-old suspect’s vehicle seen after the deadly Manhattan Beach crash on May 4, 2025. (OnScene.TV) -
Undated photos of Braun Levi, friends and family at left at a growing memorial at the Manhattan Beach crash site. (KTLA) -
Undated photos of Braun Levi, friends and family at left at a growing memorial at the Manhattan Beach crash site. (KTLA)
DMV records indicate that her license remains suspended, The Times reported.
Levi, whose family had just lost their home in the Palisades Fire, was a three-year captain of the Loyola High School tennis team and in April had won his fourth consecutive league championship. He was set to attend the University of Virginia after graduation.
“He was the type of tennis player that even when you were his competition on the court, off the court, he was friends with everybody,” Jennifer Levi, Braun’s mother, told KTLA on Monday.
His sister, Adelle Levi, shared with KTLA that a memorial for her brother at the beach volleyball courts where he would play has drawn all kinds of people to pay their respects.
“There’s hundreds of Manhattan Beach kids there and we’ve only lived here for four months,” she explained. “That shows the impact that Braun had on people and the type of friends he can make so fast.”
The 18-year-old’s father, Dan Levi, said his son saw the loss of their Palisades home to the fire as an opportunity to connect with others.
“We all just tried to make the most of losing our house, appreciating the love of our family,” he said. “Braun, specifically, wanted to reach out to all the younger classmates at his high school and help them through the experience.”
The teen’s family plans to start a scholarship fund in his name and will be hosting a community-wide memorial Saturday, May 10, at 6 p.m. at Loyola High School, saying that everyone who knew and loved Braun is welcome to come.
As of Monday, Manhattan Beach police had not yet presented the case to the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office. Belt remains in custody without bail.
