One 18-Year-Old Dies, Another Hurt in Calabasas Drag Race Crash

A Woodland Hills 18-year-old was killed and another was injured Wednesday afternoon when the Acura they were in slammed into a power pole during an impromptu drag race in Calabasas, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said.

The two occupants of the car were allegedly racing another 18-year-old who was driving a Honda. The three had been friends since kindergarten and had just finished lunch when they decided to race, officials said.

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

The Honda’s driver, John Mut 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 Acura’s driver, David Henson of Encino, was airlifted to UCLA Medical Center, where he was in fair condition Wednesday evening, according to hospital officials.

The district attorney’s office will have the discretion of filing manslaughter charges as either misdemeanors or felonies based on whether there is evidence of “gross negligence,” Wahler said.

Witnesses told investigators that shortly after 2 p.m. the two cars lined up side by side 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, which has a speed limit of 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, hitting the pole and taking out mailboxes and sidewalk newspaper racks, Wahler said.

The Honda’s driver returned to the accident scene when he realized his friends had crashed, Wahler said. Both men in the Acura were wearing their seat belts, he added.

Although some nearby office workers said speeding is a problem there, Deputy Mike Gurrola said that stretch of Mureau--a relatively straight road flanked by office parks--doesn’t have a reputation for drag racing.

“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.