Teen Driver in Fatal Crash Faces Restrictions

The Anaheim high school student who crashed his Chevy Suburban near Victorville in an accident that left four friends dead was ordered by a San Bernardino County judge Friday to attend alcohol counseling and not to leave home without a parent.

James V. Patterson, 18, denied the vehicular manslaughter and drunk driving charges against him at a juvenile court proceeding and was allowed to remain at home with his parents as long as he meets 14 conditions of home supervision, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Colin Bilash.

A pretrial conference date was set for Nov. 17. According to a California Highway Patrol report, the Katella High School water polo player drank 10 beers and slept less than four hours before getting behind the wheel of the Suburban on July 29 and losing control. In addition to the four people killed, three were injured.

Patterson’s blood alcohol level was .16, twice the legal limit for adults and 16 times the limit for juveniles. More than 40 beer cans were scattered on the desert floor at the accident scene. Patterson was 17 at the time of the crash.

His attorney could not be reached for comment Friday.

Bilash said he did not seek to have Patterson taken into custody because of his lack of a criminal record and his stable home life, but the “severity of the crime and the fact that he appears to have an alcohol problem” made the restrictions appropriate.

In addition to attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings three times a week, Patterson must submit to random alcohol testing and is forbidden from consuming alcohol, Bilash said. His parents also were ordered to remove all alcohol from the home.

Patterson always must be supervised by an adult and must attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving program, a move cheered by MADD members who attended the court hearing along with families of the victims.

“I have to really praise the judge,” said Fred Curtis, the father of Jonothan Croweagle Fabbro Curtis, one of the four teens killed in the accident. “Hopefully, this will shake Patterson loose, and really make him aware of his problem.”

The parents of all the victims have said Patterson should serve time to send a message to other teens who drink and drive. But Curtis said the restrictions likely will prove educational.

“Him being out and having to live with these restrictions is going to be more of a learning tool than him sitting behind bars right now,” he said.