Driver in Fatal Crash to Serve Time

A Thousand Oaks teenager who was driving with a provisional license when his speeding truck crashed, killing a 13-year-old passenger was ordered Thursday to spend a month in custody and four months of house arrest.

The 16-year-old driver, who admitted last month to a petition charging him with gross vehicular manslaughter, had received his license two months before the crash and was prohibited from driving with other teenagers for the first six months without adult supervision.

The family of his victim, Gregory Chase Arnett, who would have turned 14 today, implored Ventura County Superior Court Judge John Dobroth to send a strong message to other teens and their parents when deciding the driver’s fate.

“Our anger and sorrow are not the reasons we ask for punishment, but rather the egregious act. This is about consequences for behavior that is dangerous,” said Judi Arnett, the victim’s mother.

The driver, whose identity was withheld because of his age, was traveling almost twice the posted 35 mph limit on a winding road near the boys’ homes about 10:15 p.m. on July 10. The high-performance Ford pickup veered off the road, rolled down an embankment and hit a tree. A second passenger, who is 15, was hospitalized.

“This was a horrible accident, but that’s what it was, an accident,” the driver’s father said during the dispositional hearing. “Chase was like a member of our family. He was like a son.”

But the second passenger told the court that the short ride back from a video store soon got out of hand.

“He was driving like a madman,” the 15-year-old said. “Suddenly, he just took off into an uncontrollable speed nightmare. Both Chase and I told him to slow down, but he did not listen.”

The passenger’s mother said the driver would intimidate younger boys in the neighborhood by offering them rides and taunting them if they declined.

Arnett told the judge she had twice talked with the driver, a junior at Westlake High School, about his poor driving habits and how she did not want her only son to be in a vehicle with him. “We had expressly forbidden him to drive Chase,” she said.

She said Chase had a bright future and wanted to become a lawyer. He would regularly confide in her about girls or seek advice on clothes or what to do with his unruly hair, Arnett said.

Since the accident, family members said they have struggled with their loss. Judi Arnett spoke of needing medication to sleep; her husband, Greg, is being treated for anxiety and depression. Their oldest daughter, a Westlake High senior, said it’s difficult being on the same campus with the person responsible for her brother’s death.

Dobroth ordered the 16-year-old driver to transfer from Westlake after his incarceration. He will be on an electronic monitor, restricted to trips between home and school, for four months followed by 15 months of performing community service five hours a week.

“If he were an adult in my court with the same facts he would do more than a year in jail,” the judge said before handing down his sentenceorder. “I have to say: Dad, you made a horrible mistake giving that sort of vehicle to your son. It was beyond irresponsible.”

Greg Arnett called the sentenceorder “quite appropriate.” He said he hoped it would get the attention of parents and cause them to more closely supervise their teenagers’ driving.

After the hearing, the father of the driver expressed remorse for the accident.

“This has been a very tragic situation, and we continue to pray for all involved,” he said.