Youth Given 8 Years in Crash That Killed 4

Twice the Canyon Country youth was warned that he was driving too dangerously, too fast.

But two speeding tickets and a stint in traffic school did not stop Marcus Christian Lellan from once again flooring the accelerator. This time, at more than 100 mph, he lost control, slamming his auto into an oncoming car and killing four people, including three of his high school classmates.

A judge sentenced the lanky 19-year-old high school senior to eight years in prison Wednesday, calling the crash “not an accident” but a “willful and deliberate” act.

“Driving at that speed . . . shows he exhibited complete disregard for everybody else but himself,” said Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles Peven. “I feel that Mr. Lellan, if not in prison, will be a danger to others.”

Lellan, who was 18 at the time of the February crash, looked grave at the two-hour hearing. His defense attorney, James E. Blatt, argued for a two-year sentence but Deputy Dist. Atty. David Jacobs asked for eight years.

With good behavior and time already served, Lellan could be released in 3 1/2 years, Blatt said. Lellan also faces possible deportation by the Immigration and Naturalization Service because he is not a U.S. citizen, having emigrated from Denmark in 1989.

At the hearing, family members of the four victims tearfully implored the judge to give Lellan the maximum sentence of 10 1/2 years. In the end, the sentence seemed to satisfy the victims’ families and Lellan’s attorney.

“The sentence he was given was appropriate,” said Jannine Nickpee, niece of Rodney David Adams, the 45-year-old driver in the oncoming car who was killed. “It’s going to take about that long to heal.”

Alice Renolds, the mother of two brothers who died, said the sentence “will hopefully send a message to other teens that there are consequences for what happened.”

In April, Lellan pleaded guilty to reckless driving and four counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in the Feb. 17 crash.

That night, Lellan tried to pass cars on Soledad Canyon Road using the bicycle lane, then swerved and lost control. He crashed into the median and his car flipped over, landing on top of the car driven by Adams.

Adams, a letter carrier who lived in Santa Clarita, was killed instantly. Three of Lellan’s passengers--Dominic Whit Ianozzi, 17, and brothers Timothy Lee Renolds, 18, and Daniel Richard Renolds, 15, also died at the scene. A fourth passenger, 16-year-old Daniel Weber, suffered minor injuries. All the youths, including Lellan, were students at Canyon High School.

Before the crash, Lellan had a reputation for driving fast and recklessly, as well as a traffic record, according to court documents.

Last October, Lellan was cited for driving 67 mph in a 50-mph zone, and in January he was cited for driving 64 mph in a 40-mph zone. On both occasions he was ticketed on Soledad Canyon Road.

“It puts you on notice that your behavior is unsafe,” said Jacobs, the prosecutor. “Mr. Lellan chose not to heed those warning signs.”

Moments before the crash, passengers in Lellan’s car screamed for the youth to slow down, according to court documents. Skid marks showed that his car was traveling at 103 mph when Lellan lost control.

After the crash, Lellan tested positive for marijuana, and a pipe was found. The youth admitted that he had smoked marijuana at noon that day.

Because Lellan conceded wrongdoing and had no criminal record, his probation report recommended that he serve less than maximum sentence in prison.

Because they did not contest any charges, Lellan and his attorney were allowed to choose the sentencing judge.

Peven said, however, that if he did not impose a meaningful prison sentence there was a strong likelihood that the youth could think: “I got away with another one.”

“I feel the defendant has engaged in violent conduct,” Peven said.

At the hearing, the Renolds family spoke about losing the two boys. Danny would have turned 16 today, and Tim would have already graduated from high school.

“They were not only brothers but best friends. They shared many things together. Now they share a headstone on their grave,” said their mother, Alice Renolds. “No one can imagine the pain of choosing two cemetery plots, two caskets.”

Anthony Ianozzi, the father of Dominic, said he could find “no words to explain the extent of our grief and pain.”

Neither Lellan nor his family spoke at the hearing. Afterward, the youth’s mother, Gitte Lellan, said: “There is nothing we can say other than to beg for forgiveness.”