Oscar Winning Screenwriter of Pulp Fiction To Face Felony Manslaughter Drunk Driving Charges

December 13, 2008 (by Otto Smyth)

According to reports by drunk driving lawyers in Los Angeles, screenwriter Roger Avary has been charged by the prosecutors office with gross vehicular manslaughter on Friday. The charges stem from a January 13th single car accident, which caused the death of his passenger Andreas Zini.

According to reports Avary failed to negotiate a curve and crashed into a telephone pole while driving a Mercedes sedan and at the time of the accident his blood alcohol level was over the legal limit. Along with the death of Andreas Zini age 34 and resident of Italy was Gretchen Avary who was seriously injured after being ejected from the vehicle according to Mike Lief the prosecutor in the case. The accident occurred in the rural area of Ojai late at night. According to reports Zini´s wife Maria was in a separate car following Avary´s Mercedes at the time of the accident.

Avary appeared at a hearing in Ventura County Friday with his attorney Mark Werksman, Avary has been charged with gross felony manslaughter, and two felony counts of causing bodily injury while intoxicated. There has been a pretrial conference set for February 20, 2009. If convicted the two felony charges of causing bodily injury while intoxicated holds a sentence of up to eleven years in jail.

Prosecutor Lief asked the court in a separate hearing to raise the amount of bail which Avary has been released on from $50,000 to $80,000. The judge hearing the case, Judge Kevin McGee declines Lief´s motion stating Avary has been present at all of the court proceedings. The judge did grant that Avary is allowed to travel outside of the country while out on bail.

Roger Avary is the Oscar winning screen writer of movies like Pulp Fiction, which he co-wrote with Quentin Tarantino and Beowulf.