Oscar-winning screenwriter Roger Avary has been sentenced to a year in jail for causing a car crash that killed a passenger and injured his wife in Ojai.
The co-author of such hits as "Pulp Fiction" and "Beowulf" last year pleaded not guilty in a Ventura County courthouse to gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and other charges in the Jan. 13, 2008, collision. But in August, he changed his plea to guilty on all counts.
In addition to 365 days in jail, Avary received five years’ probation Tuesday, said Michael Lief, who prosecuted the case.
Avary, 44, was at the wheel of a Mercedes sedan that was traveling at more than 100 miles per hour when it crashed into a telephone pole, according to investigators.
Passenger Andreas Zini, 34, was killed in the collision. Avary’s wife, Gretchen, was ejected from the vehicle and treated for serious injuries.
