By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-18 17:12:02 | Updated at 2024-11-25 19:31:16
1 week ago
An LA influencer filmed snorting drugs on the street days after allegedly killing an elderly woman in a car crash is now in a coma.
Garrett Bruno, 33, was riding his scooter with no helmet on October 25, when he fell and cracked his skull, leaving him critically-ill in hospital.
Bruno suffered the accident 15 days after allegedly causing the crash that killed Esther Abouab, 83, and six days after DailyMail.com photographed him sniffing white powder he said was ketamine on a sidewalk.
The West Hollywood-based travel influencer was rushed to hospital unconscious, where he remains gravely-ill with his parents by his side, a West Hollywood source told DailyMail.com
Armed cops only learned of Bruno's accident late Friday night when they stormed his $1.1 million rental bungalow to arrest him for Abouab's murder.
Exclusive DailyMail.com images show the moment the dramatic raid took place.
But Bruno was nowhere to be found, with his ex-boyfriend then informing Los Angeles Sheriff's Department of the scooter accident.
Cops left the property empty-handed, with a source telling DailyMail.com that prosecutors plan to file a second-degree murder charge.
This is the moment armed LA Sheriff's deputies stormed the West Hollywood home of influencer Garrett Bruno Friday night to arrest him for the murder of Esther Abouab, 83
Cops discovered that Bruno, pictured snorting drugs outside his home on October 19, is now in a coma after falling off his scooter and cracking his skull on October 25
Bruno is pictured in happier times in a photo uploaded to his popular Instagram page. He faces a second-degree murder charge over the crash which killed Esther Abouab
The distressing sequence of events began on October 10, when Bruno slammed his Ford Escape SUV into the side of a Ford Expedition in which Abouab was traveling with her husband Joe.
Bruno was traveling north on North Spaulding Avenue, a few blocks from his home, when he smashed into Abouab's car as it drove along Fountain Avenue.
The speed limit on the street where Bruno was driving was 25mph, although the force of the impact suggests his car was traveling faster.
Abouab was rushed to hospital where she later died. Family members including her famed restaurateur son Greg Morris are said to be distraught by her death.
Joe Abouab suffered horrific injuries but has since been released. Bruno was photographed covered in blood and handcuffed to a gurney moments after the accident and was discharged from hospital a few days later.
A few days later, Bruno suffered the first of two scooter accidents when he went for a ride, fell off and broke his jaw. Three metal screws were inserted into his injury to help him recover.
On Saturday October 19, DailyMail.com photographed a cut and bruised Bruno snorting drugs on the street outside his home at 11am in the morning.
The influencer, who was 61,000 followers, was snapped unscrewing a black vial and lifting a small metal spoon filled with white powder to his nose, then sniffing it.
Cops are seen examining the trunk of a black Tesla outside the home of Garrett Bruno Friday night
Cops at the $1.1 million West Hollywood bungalow Bruno shared with his ex-boyfriend. They left the property empty-handed and did not make any arrests
Bruno is seen in another image shot by DailyMail.com on October 19, loading a small spoon with what he said was prescription ketamine before snorting it
Esther Abouab, pictured here, died when Bruno's Ford Escape slammed into the Ford Expedition she was traveling in on October 10. She is the mother of famed LA restaurateur Greg Morris
Bruno is pictured covered in blood in the immediate aftermath of the car crash, which happened at a dangerous intersection a few blocks from his Hollywood home
The car being driven by Bruno is pictured in the aftermath of the October 10 horror smash
The Ford SUV that Abouab was a passenger in was pushed into a parking garage by the force of the impact
Bruno is pictured on vacation on his GarrettTravels Instagram account, which has 61,000 followers
On October 22, Bruno took to Instagram to claim that the powder was a ketamine prescription he had been given to treat depression and anxiety.
He also addressed Abouab's death, writing: 'I am very sorry for the loss of this life, but the cause of the accident is still under investigation.'
Bruno shared a photo of his mother paying him a surprise visit from his home in Florida on October 24, the day before his scooter accident.
He also posted a video of himself shirtless, working out at an outdoor gym shortly before he fell off the two wheeler and cracked his skull.
Bruno's lawyer Ambrosio Rodriguez told DailyMail.com last month that a toxicology test performed after the smash had come back negative.
Rodriguez has been contacted for further comment on Bruno's scooter accident and the charges he faces.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has yet to share any official findings.
Bruno was cited by Los Angeles Sheriff's Department deputies for a misdemeanor the week before Abouab's killing after an 'altercation with a firefighter according to the WeHo Times.
Bruno, who has 61,000 Instagram followers, is seen visibly injured last month, around 10 days after Abouab's death. He faces 15 years to life behind bars if convicted of her murder
Bruno is pictured in happier times at the beach in Fire Island Pines
Bruno shared an Instagram screenshot claiming the powder he'd been photographed snorting was prescription ketamine
Bruno went on to issue this statement on the collision which saw him brand it an accident
The influencer shared workout footage on his Instagram page hours before the scooter accident which has left him comatose
Los Angeles Sheriff's Office deputies are filmed at Garrett Bruno's home Friday night during an operation intended to arrest him
No further details on that incident have been given.
He also picked up a slew of moving violations in his home state of Florida in 2012, one of which saw his license suspended.
A second-degree murder charge carries a sentence of 15 years to life. Prosecutors are also preparing to file charges for reckless driving, causing bodily injury and battery over the alleged attack on the firefighter.
Bruno amassed tens of thousands of followers with glossy photographs of himself globetrotting to multiple glitzy destinations.
He came out as a Donald Trump supporter shortly before the fatal accident, further stoking controversy among the liberal-leaning gay community in LA.
