Santa Monica Teen Kills Four in Santa Barbara
By Lookout Staff
A Santa Monica teenager plowed into a group of pedestrians near UC Santa
Barbara Friday night, leaving four dead and one seriously injured before
he was tackled and held by a crowd of startled and angry bystanders.
David Edward Attias, 18, a freshman at the university was arrested and
booked on four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
He is being held at Santa Barbara County jail pending an appearance in
Superior Court on Monday.
Attias, who is the son of acclaimed television director Daniel Attias
("The Sopranos" and "Ally McBeal"), was driving a
black 1991 Saab down Sabado Tarde Road at speeds exceeding 60 mph, according
to witnesses. The speed limit on the popular street in Isla Vista near
the university campus, which was packed with weekend revelers, is 25 mph.
Attias allegedly sideswiped nine vehicles before plowing into the pedestrians,
according to reports. The impact was so severe it knocked the shoes and
socks off of one of the victims.
Several eyewitnesses said they heard Attias shout "I am the Angel
of Death" moments after the collision, according to the Santa Barbara
News Press. One witness was quoted as saying that Attias was throwing
punches at everyone and yelling "satanic stuff."
One of the witnesses told the news source that Attias hit the accelerator
before plowing into the victims.
Attias then ran out of the car and attempted to flee the scene, witnesses
said. Some of the bystanders tackled the suspect and angrily kicked him
while he was on the ground. They then held Attias until police arrived.
According to a sheriff's department spokesman, Attias showed signs of
being drugged or intoxicated. After the suspect refused to take a Breathalyzer
test, police drew blood for analysis. The results are expected in several
days.
Those killed in the accident were Nicholas Shaw Bourdakis, 20, a UC Santa
Barbara sophomore from a San Francisco suburb; Christopher Edward Divis,
20, a junior from San Diego; Ruth Levy, a student at Santa Barbara City
College from Northern California, and a 27-year-old man. Authorities had
not released his name late Saturday pending notification of his family.
Ruth's brother, Albert Levy, was listed in critical condition Saturday
at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara.
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