OJAI, Calif., Jan. 15 (UPI) -- A retired California prosecutor said he saw screenwriter Roger Avary in the road trying to help his wife after she was thrown from the car Avary just crashed.
Avary, who has worked on the films "Pulp Fiction," "Killing Zoe" and "Beowulf," was arrested after he crashed his Mercedes into a telephone pole near Ojai, Calif., early Sunday, seriously hurting his wife and leaving another passenger dead.
Sheriff's deputies arrested Avary on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and drunken driving. He was released after posting $50,000 bail and is to be arraigned Friday.
Former Ventura County District Attorney Michael Bradbury said he saw Avary in the road shortly after the crash, trying to revive his wife, who had been thrown from the vehicle.
"He was yelling: 'Don't die, Gretchen! Don't die!,'" Bradbury told the Los Angeles Times. "He wasn't speaking real clearly. I assumed at that point he had something to drink."
Avary's wife was hospitalized in stable condition late Monday.
Andreas Zini, 34, a friend visiting from Italy, had been in the passenger seat when the right side of the car hit the pole. He died of his injuries at the hospital a short time after the crash.
