Avary's Attorney Denies Charges

County plans to charge screenwriter with vehicular manslaughter

By Daryl Kelley
Ventura County prosecutors have tentatively decided to charge Oscar-winning screen-writer Roger Avary with gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated resulting from a late-night car crash near Ojai in January in which a man was killed and Avary’s wife was injured.
But defense attorney Mark Werksman said Tuesday that the 42-year-old Avary, who won an Academy Award for ‘Pulp Fiction’ in 1994, denies being intoxicated and thinks the crash was caused by a tire blowout.
“He denies being under the influence,” Werksman said. “He did lose control (of the car). We know that a tire blew, then he lost control. It was a dark night on an unlit curve.” Nor was Avary speeding, the lawyer said.
Werksman’s comments were the first indication of the Avary defense.
Key evidence, the lawyer said, will be the results of blood samples taken to determine the screenwriter’s alcohol level after the crash, and the type of damage to Avary’s 2000 Mercedes coupe.
“There are things we can’t learn without court orders once the case is filed,’’ he said.
On Jan. 13, Avary was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and felony drunken driving after the car he was driving skidded and crashed into a telephone pole on Ojai Avenue in front of Ojai Lumber about 12:30 a.m.
The district attorney’s office submitted the manslaughter charge to the Superior Court this month, and prosecutors expect the court to officially file it shortly before Avary’s scheduled arraignment Sept. 19.
If convicted on the charge, Avary could receive up to 11 years in prison, authorities said.
“It’s the most serious charge we are considering. It really is the most likely charge that’s being considered,” said Chief Assistant District Attorney Jim Ellison this week.
But, he added, that there’s still “a lot of investigation going on into this.” An elaborate accident re-construction has been part of the investigation, he said.
“All sorts of factors” could have contributed to the accident in addition to Avary’s alleged intoxication, Ellison said.
Although the charge has not been officially entered by the court, case documents show that Deputy District Attorney Kathy LaSalle reviewed and accepted the gross vehicular manslaughter complaint July 15, then submitted it to the court clerk for filing.
Often, charges are not officially filed by the court clerk until a few days before arraignment, officials said.
“The court may not take any action until close to the (September) appearance date,” Ellison said. Avary’s arraignment has already been delayed three times, most recently on July 17, at the request of prosecutors.
In addition to the vehicular manslaughter charge, prosecutors have considered charging Avary with driving under the influence of alcohol and causing injury or death, a less serious charge that carries a maximum of seven years in prison considering the injuries in this case, Ellison said.
Werksman said he could not discuss the case in detail because a charge has not yet been filed. But he said he knows prosecutors intend to file the charge of vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.
“I’m aware of what they’re planning, and we’re waiting for them to actually file the case,” Werksman said. “Once that happens we can begin to work toward resolution of this case ... We can’t determine the true cause of this accident until a judge is appointed and we have an opportunity to inspect the vehicle and examine the district attorney’s evidence.”
Andreas Zini, 34, who was visiting Avary from Italy, died in the single-car crash, apparently from internal injuries, authorities said.
Avary’s wife, Gretchen, also suffered serious injuries after being thrown from the car when it crashed on East Ojai Avenue near Boardman Road. According to Ojai Police Chief Bruce Norris, Avary failed to negotiate a turn in the highway and crashed into a power pole.
Avary was uninjured, but his 40-year-old wife was found lying in the road next to the couple’s sedan. She was transported to Ojai Valley Community Hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. She was released about a week later as she recovered from a ruptured bladder.
In a statement the day after the accident, Avary’s publicist Julie Polkes, said: “Roger wishes to publicly convey his heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased. Words cannot express how sorry he is, and this tragic accident will always haunt him.”
Avary, a screenwriter, director and producer, remains free on a $50,000 bail bond.
At the time, Werksman said Avary was “grief stricken.” And on Tuesday the lawyer added:
“This was a horrible accident, a tragedy, and he (Avary) feels awful about what occurred.”
The attorney said no civil lawsuit had been filed in the case.
Former Dist. Atty. Michael Bradbury, who owns an East End ranch, was a witness to the crash’s immediate aftermath, arriving as the dust settled and calling for emergency vehicles.
Bradbury said Tuesday in an interview that Avary was distraught and slurring his speech after the crash.
When Bradbury arrived, Gretchen Avary was on the roadway and her husband was holding her head in both hands, Bradbury said. Roger Avary said: “Gretchen, Gretchen, don’t die, don’t die. Gretchen talk to me,” according to Bradbury.
Bradbury said he asked Avary to move away from the woman, so she wouldn’t be harmed by the movement. But Avary said the woman was his wife and told Bradbury his name. “Due to a slight slur I didn’t hear his last name accurately,” Bradbury said. The former prosecutor said he asked if the man’s name was Avis, and he said, no, it was Avary.
Prosecutor Ellison would not comment this week on Bradbury’s account except to say that the case would be filed regardless. “It doesn’t have any bearing on it,” he said.
Werksman said he’d talked with Bradbury about what he saw at the scene.
“I spoke with Mr. Bradbury, and it is accurate that Roger was very distraught,” the lawyer said. “I don’t think he would describe Roger as slurring his words.”
But Bradbury said Tuesday that he stands by his account that Avary was slurring words.

The original OVN report and reader comments