Teenager Killed in Alleged Drag Race

A Woodland Hills teenager was killed and another youth was injured Wednesday afternoon when their Acura slammed into a power pole while racing another car, sheriff’s officials said.

Ali Zandi, 18, died at the scene, about 200 feet from Calabasas City Hall.

The Acura’s 18-year-old driver, David Henson of Encino, was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center, where he was in fair condition Wednesday evening, according to hospital officials.

The driver of the other car, John Mut, 18, of Calabasas, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and was being held at the Malibu-Lost Hills sheriff’s station Wednesday, Sheriff’s Deputy Hugh Wahler said.

The three teenagers had been friends since kindergarten.

The district attorney’s office can file manslaughter charges as either misdemeanors or felonies based on whether drivers act with “gross negligence,” Wahler said.

Witnesses told investigators that shortly after 2 p.m. the Acura and a Honda lined up in the two westbound lanes of Mureau Road and took off in a squeal of tires.

The cars reached speeds of over 60 mph on the five-lane street whose speed limit is about 40 or 45 mph, Wahler said.

As the two cars came out of a slight curve less than a mile later, the Acura drove over a curb and hit the pole, taking out mailboxes and sidewalk newspaper racks, Wahler said.

The other driver returned to the accident when he realized his friends had crashed, Wahler said.

Both men in the Acura were wearing seat belts, he added.

The stretch of Mureau Road, which is relatively straight and flanked by office parks, doesn’t have a reputation as a drag-race site, Deputy Mike Gurrola said.

“This was just one of those freak things where they came across each other and wanted to see who was faster, I guess,” Gurrola said.