Driver Who Plowed Into Pool Hall Has History of Blackouts

Horror film director Eric Red, who was behind the wheel of his Jeep Cherokee when it plowed through a West Los Angeles pool hall last spring, killing two people, was driving on a restricted license and had suffered from occasional blackouts, his attorney revealed Friday.

Nearly four months have passed since bar patron Noah Baum, 34, and a waiting bus rider, David Roos, 26, were struck and killed by Red’s car after it plowed across three lanes of Wilshire Boulevard, over a bus stop, through the bar patio and into the mahogany bar at Q’s Billiards. Several others were injured.

In response to questions, Red’s attorney, Arthur Greenspan, detailed his client’s medical and driving records Friday. For months, police and attorneys on the case have been tight-lipped about the investigation of the May 31 accident.

Greenspan, who previously refused to discuss his client’s medical background, said the 39-year-old director passed a drug and alcohol test immediately after the crash, spent two weeks under psychiatric evaluation at UCLA Medical Center and was interviewed by police a month after the accident.

“When something terrible happens, you want to blame somebody,” Greenspan said. “But sometimes an accident is an accident.”

Some have criticized police for failing to interview key witnesses, including three FBI agents who were sitting at the bar when the Jeep burst through.

Others have speculated that the director, known for films of the late 1980s and early ‘90s such as “The Hitcher,” “Blue Steel” and “Body Parts,” may have been reenacting a scene from a film.

Detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department’s West Traffic Division said they have interviewed more than 20 witnesses and expect to resolve the case within a month.

Ultimately, police could conclude that the crash was an “unavoidable accident,” cite Red for a moving violation or charge him with felony manslaughter, Det. Mike Fischer said. “Not always when someone dies in a traffic accident is there a criminal charge,” he said.

Red has not been charged with a crime and is still licensed to drive. But, Greenspan said, “as it stands right now, he’s not driving, nor does he have any desire to drive.”

Witnesses said that Red initially bumped a car at a nearby stoplight and that when the driver got out to inspect the damage he found Red slumped over the wheel, apparently unconscious. Seconds later, Red’s car sped across the intersection and crashed, witnesses said.

Inside the bar, Red got out of his Jeep and began slashing his throat with a shard of broken glass, patrons said.

Greenspan said that the state Department of Motor Vehicles restricted Red’s license about a year ago because his car insurance had expired but that Red wasn’t notified of the restriction until police discovered it during their investigation. Under the restriction, Red may drive only to and from work.

Medical records show that Red suffers from syncope, a loss of consciousness caused by a temporary shortage of blood to the brain, Greenspan said.

Although Red has experienced periodic fainting spells all his life, they occurred infrequently and didn’t prevent him from receiving a driver’s license, Greenspan said.

“The last time he blacked out was about two years ago, and he was in his home at the time,” Greenspan said.

A DMV spokesman said anything that affects consciousness must be disclosed when the driver applies for a license. It’s not clear if Red told the DMV about his condition.

But Baum’s brother Eric Baum said he does not believe Red could lose consciousness and sustain enough energy to hold down the Jeep’s accelerator.

“He took off a huge chunk of bus stop and made it through the bar,” he said. “This thing was going full power. The human body cannot do that in a state of unconsciousness. Muscles don’t do that.”