Although I respect and appreciate the Nexus’ intentions in presenting its memorial to the victims of the shocking events on Sabado Tarde a year ago, readers should have been given a complete recounting of the facts.

The facts, according to police and media reports, are as follows:

• On the night of Friday, Feb. 23, David Attias, a UCSB freshman, allegedly drove his vehicle at 50-plus miles per hour eastbound on Sabado Tarde Road, hitting multiple parked cars and striking five pedestrians before finally crashing to a stop.
• Four pedestrians – Nick Bourdakis, Chris Divis, Elie Israel and Ruth Levy – were killed immediately. Albert Levy, Ruth’s brother, was seriously injured. The scene was described as “horrific.”
• Alcohol was not found in Attias’ system, though traces of THC and lidocaine (a dental anesthetic) were found.
• According to those who knew him, Attias had been called “Crazy Dave” because of his strange, erratic behavior. Also, witnesses at the scene of the accident said Attias claimed to be the “angel of death” and made other unusual statements. Attias was combative with bystanders and law enforcement.
• Attias is currently in jail awaiting trial.

The Nexus owes it to the community to tell the whole story about what happened that night and to set the facts in stone, especially when so many rumors initially flew about alcohol being the cause of the tragedy in this “town out of control” as some national media called it. Also, the story needs to be told in the hopes that it can prevent another tragedy like this one. I know all of us involved would support any attempt to prevent future pain and suffering like this. Most importantly, recounting the events is vital to the memory of Nick, Chris, Elie and Ruth. After all, why should future students and community members even bother to remember if they don’t know the facts and cannot, therefore, understand the magnitude of what happened?

Jason Schock is a former Daily Nexus photo editor and webmaster.