By TRILBY BERESFORD | Reporter
At approximately 12:20 a.m. on Thursday, July 23, a road accident occurred on Bienveneda Avenue in Pacific Palisades where a speeding Prius vehicle hit a parked car. LAPD and Los Angeles Fire Department Station 69 were called to the scene.
“The driver was an 18-year-old male under the influence of alcohol,” Captain Tony Valdez from Station 69 told the Palisadian-Post. “There was alcohol in the vehicle.”
He added that the boy had lacerations to his forehead even though the airbag deployed and he was wearing his seatbelt.
Lastly, Valdez said that the driver “pulled a knife” on an off-duty police officer who happened to be in the area and was offering assistance. He was handcuffed by LAPD and taken to a local police station.
While this was all taking place, the driver’s friends ran to the crash site from an alleged house party and were rude to police officers, firemen and the concerned residents who had emerged from their houses to provide support.
On Sunday, Aug. 5, a Bienveneda resident received a handwritten note from the assailant, apologizing for his actions that frightened the neighborhood.
“I was wrong for stepping behind the wheel that night,” the note read. In reference to his friends’ behavior, the boy wrote, “I also apologize for the rude teenagers disrespecting all of you.”
He expressed regret and remorse, and admitted that he feels “shame, regret and sorrow” every morning when he wakes up. He ended the letter with, “I know I’ve made a huge mistake and if there’s anything I can do, please let me know.”
West Bureau LAPD is handling the case.
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