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.