Actor was driving in fatal crash

Inquiry begins into why a Beverly Hills High student,
who died, and 2 girls were in the SUV.

Los Angeles Times
December 5, 2006

By Erika Hayasaki, Richard Winton and Jessica Garrison
Times Staff Writers

Police and school officials Monday were investigating
why three teenagers were riding with a TV actor when
his Land Rover struck a tree Saturday, killing a
17-year-old Beverly Hills High School student and
critically injuring the two others.

Lane Garrison, 26, a co-star of the Fox television
drama "Prison Break," showed signs of "alcohol
intoxication" when he was questioned by police, said
Lt. Mitch McCann of the Beverly Hills Police
Department. Alcohol containers were found inside the
SUV, he said.

Garrison has not been arrested, and law enforcement
sources said detectives are awaiting the results of
the actor’s blood test.

His lawyer, Harland Braun, said the actor "doesn’t
remember anything about the accident~E. He thinks he
was driving but he can’t swear to it."

Police, however, put Garrison behind the wheel when he
lost control of his SUV and crashed into a tree in the
300 block of South Beverly Drive.

The crash killed 17-year-old Vahagn Setian. Two
15-year-old girls who also were in the vehicle were
taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. One has been
released from the hospital and the other is in serious
condition, officials said.

The girls do not attend Beverly Hills High, and
authorities did not release information about them.

According to Braun, Garrison met the teens, who were
fans, at a grocery store and accompanied them to a
party, where he had one drink. About an hour later,
the actor left the party to meet a female friend and
the teens asked if they could go with him, Braun said.
Garrison said yes.

The next thing Garrison recalled was waking up at
Century City Doctors Hospital ~W where he was treated
for minor injuries ~W with a taxicab voucher in his
lap, Braun said.

"There is always the possibility that someone put
something in the drink," Braun said, adding that the
blood test would show that.

"We’re still trying to figure out what happened," said
the lawyer, adding that Garrison was having trouble
with his vehicle’s brakes and the SUV pulled to the
right. He said police would examine the vehicle.

Garrison, who lives in Beverly Hills, was
"despondent" and "overwhelmed" by the incident, Braun
said.

Police said "the investigation into Mr. Garrison’s
impairment is ongoing."

"Mr. Garrison is not related to any one of the people
in the car," McCann said.

Beverly Hills police brought in crash-scene
investigators to try to reconstruct the accident.
McCann said in such cases it usually takes six to
eight weeks for some action on the incident.

On Monday, students arrived at Beverly Hills High
wearing green, Setian’s favorite color. The guitar
player and former drama student was known for sporting
a green Rastafarian-style beret.

With grief counselors on hand, school officials
dismissed students early for a memorial at the crash
site.

News about the crash spread quickly among students via
text messages, e-mail and cellphones. By 3 p.m.
Sunday, more than 100 students had locked hands around
a candlelight memorial in Roxbury Park near the
campus, where students placed flowers and cartons of
Dunhills, Setian’s favorite brand of cigarettes.

Juilan Wan, 16, said Setian was one of his best
friends. The two boys had breakfast together on the
day of the accident. Wan said that Setian knew he was
leaving for Japan at the end of the month and gave him
a rosary.

Wan recalled that Setian told him: "When we can’t be
together, this is how I want you to remember me."

"It felt like this was coming," Wan said. "Nothing was
left unsaid. He knew he was one of my best friends."

Friends nicknamed Setian "Va Häagen-Dazs," like the
ice cream. Wan said he did not know why Setian got
into the car with Garrison on Saturday, but his
half-Greek, half-Armenian friend always "lived for the
moment."

Beverly Hills High student Katie Havard, 16,
remembered when Setian had a crush on her a few years
ago, and used to carry her picture in his wallet.

"He was friends with every group at our school," she
said. "From the smart kids to the jocks to the stoners
~E this has really brought us together. There wasn’t a
student at our school who was more universally loved."

Havard’s mother, Melissa, said the tragedy reminds
students that "your life is not infallible." She said
she hopes this will lead to student discussions at
school about drinking and driving.

"People are human and they make mistakes, especially
teens," she said, adding that now is not the time to
wag a finger at them. "Right now it’s a time to give
them love."

Student body president Josh Tucker, 17, said the
campus was in shock and that teachers had a hard time
conducting classes.

Setian was "one of those kids that everybody knows in
the school," Tucker said. "Everyone has the same
story" on the impact he had on their lives.

The school was reeling from the accident, said Myra
Lurie, president of the Beverly Hills Unified School
District Board of Education.

"We’re all very sad," she said, adding that the
community was baffled as to what Setian was doing in
the SUV with the actor.

"Nobody knows. It’s just very odd," she said. "We have
no idea how it all transpired."

Garrison plays one of the escaped convicts on "Prison
Break." In an interview with People magazine in May,
Garrison said he once was a troubled teenager who
turned his life around.

At 15, after a botched attempt to steal a jug of wine
from a stranger’s garage, he ran home, where, he said,
"my mother just slapped the crap out of me. She drove
me to the police station. The cops handcuffed me and
put me in a cell to scare me."

Garrison was sentenced to community service and spent
a lot of time mowing lawns.

He told People that when he was 17, he moved in with
his family’s minister, Joe Simpson, the father of pop
singer and actress Jessica Simpson.

"I’m very grateful to him," he told the magazine,
adding, "Jessica and I grew up together."

erika.hayasaki@latimes.com
richa rd.winton@latimes.com
jessica.garrison@latimes.com

Times staff writer Jean Guccione contributed to this
report.

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