New Plea by Driver in 4 Deaths
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SANTA BARBARA — A student accused of running down five people with his car and killing four of them changed his plea Wednesday from not guilty to not guilty by reason of insanity.
David Edward Attias, son of television director Daniel Attias, has been charged with 13 felony counts, including murder, manslaughter and driving under the influence of drugs.
The 18-year-old, who was a UC Santa Barbara freshman at the time, allegedly raced down a street near the campus that was filled with pedestrians, hitting nine parked cars and the five people.
A bystander videotaped him struggling with several others immediately afterward. Witnesses said he shouted, “I am the angel of death.”
Attias entered his new plea Wednesday in Santa Barbara County Superior Court after his attorneys argued that his case should be dismissed. Judge Thomas Adams did not immediately rule.
Should he be found not guilty by reason of insanity he would be placed in a mental hospital until it is determined he is cured.
Outside of court, defense attorney Jack Earley expressed hope that court-appointed mental health experts will find his client was insane at the time of the Feb. 23 incident.
Attias has been jailed without bail since February.
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