On February 23, 2001, a

vehicular homicide Vehicular homicide is a crime that involves the death of a person other than the driver as a result of either criminally negligent or murderous operation of a motor vehicle. In cases of criminal negligence, the defendant is commonly charged ...

and

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

occurred in the student community of

Isla Vista, California Isla Vista ( ; , "Island View") is an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Santa Barbara County, California, in the United States. As of 2020 census, the community had a population of 15,500. For statistical purposes, ...

, near the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

(UCSB) campus. Four people were killed and a fifth, who suffered critical injuries, died in October 2016. The driver, David Attias (son of television director

Dan Attias Daniel Attias (born December 4, 1951) is an American television director and producer. He is also director of his only feature film ''Silver Bullet'' from 1985, based on the novella by Stephen King. Attias' career has spanned five decades, duri ...

), was ruled

legally insane The insanity defense, also known as the mental disorder defense, is an affirmative defense by excuse in a criminal case, arguing that the defendant is not responsible for their actions due to a psychiatric disease at the time of the criminal act ...

and sentenced to 60 years in a mental institution. In September 2012, a court approved Attias' release after 10 years.

Details

On the evening of February 23, 2001, just after 11:00 p.m., UCSB student David Attias, the 18-year-old son of television director

, drove his father's 1991

Saab 9000 The Saab 9000 is an automobile produced by the Swedish company Saab from 1984 to 1998. Representing the company's foray into the executive car scene, it was developed as a result of the successes of the turbocharged 99 and 900 models. The 90 ...

down the 6500 block of Sabado Tarde Road at a speed of 50 to 65 miles per hour. He killed four pedestrians and critically injured a fifth. According to witnesses, Attias got out and yelled "I am the Angel of Death!" He continued to taunt a growing crowd, until he was subdued by the first CHP officer to arrive on the scene. It was initially unclear if Attias was affected by drugs or if the attack was intentional. Blood tests later showed that Attias was under the influence of marijuana and

Lidocaine Lidocaine, also known as lignocaine and sold under the brand name Xylocaine among others, is a local anesthetic of the amino amide type. It is also used to treat ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation. When used for local anae ...

, but neither were deemed significant to the incident.

Victims

Four people were killed in the assault: 20-year-old UCSB students Nicholas Bourdakis and Christopher Divis, 27-year-old

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

resident Elie Israel, and 20-year-old

Santa Barbara City College Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is a public community college in Santa Barbara, California. It opened in 1909 and is located on a campus. History Santa Barbara City College was established by the Santa Barbara High School District in 1909, m ...

student Ruth Levy. A fifth person, Albert Arthur Levy, 27, Ruth's brother, was critically injured but survived. His injuries consisted of crushed legs and a severely battered head, and he died in October 2016 after having seizures for years caused by the injury.

Aftermath

Trial

Attias was charged with four counts of murder, four counts of vehicular manslaughter with

gross negligence Gross negligence is the "lack of slight diligence or care" or "a conscious, voluntary act or omission in reckless disregard of a legal duty and of the consequences to another party." In some jurisdictions a person injured as a result of gross neg ...

, and five counts of felony driving under the influence. Residents of his hall told police and the campus paper that Attias had been known for his erratic behavior, including stalking another student. Several students referred to him as "Crazy Dave" and "Tweaker." The case received additional media attention because David Attias is the son of Dan Attias, a prominent Hollywood TV director. Attias pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, and his trial sparked significant interest. On June 11, 2002, Attias was convicted in a jury trial of four counts of second-degree murder. He was acquitted of driving under the influence. One week later, the same jury found that Attias was legally insane. This resulted in a sentence of up to 60 years at

Patton State Hospital Patton State Hospital is a forensic psychiatric hospital in San Bernardino, California, United States. Though the hospital has a Patton, California address, it lies entirely within the San Bernardino city limits. Operated by the California Dep ...

San Bernardino San Bernardino ( ) is a city in and the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a population of 222,101 in the 2020 census, making it the List of ...

Memorial

A memorial to the victims was installed in Little Acorn Park. The park borders the intersection where Attias struck and killed them.

Release

While at Patton, Attias was treated for

substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder (BD), previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that each last from days to weeks, and in ...

and

pervasive developmental disorder The diagnostic category pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), as opposed to specific developmental disorders (SDD), was a group of disorders characterized by delays in the development of multiple basic functions including socialization and ...

. In May 2012, Attias asked the courts to transfer him from Patton to an outpatient psychiatric facility, stating he has his bipolar disorder under control. The news of his request prompted expressions of concern about his potential risk of relapse or danger from survivors and family of his victims at court hearings on this proposed action. Testimony was heard from mental health professionals. Attias was given a conditional release from Patton State and transferred to a supervised "unlocked outpatient treatment program" on September 4, 2012.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Isla Vista killings 2001 in California 2001 murders in the United States Attacks in the United States in 2001 2000s crimes in California February 2001 crimes in the United States Mass murder in 2001 Mass murder in California Mass murder in the United States in the 2000s 2001 road incidents History of Santa Barbara County, California Vehicle-ramming attacks in the United States 2000s vehicle-ramming attacks