Driver faces slew of charges

A Pasadena man was charged with six counts of attempted murder Wednesday, two days after police say he tried to mow down half a dozen people with his car after he was rejected by a group of girls at a doughnut shop.

Bryan Adam Curiel, 23, was arrested early Monday, hours after authorities claim he tried to run over three women and their friends after they rebuked his pick-up attempts at a nearby doughnut shop minutes earlier near the Newport Pier.

According to prosecutors, Curiel and a friend were drinking at a Newport Beach bar near the pier before they headed over to a local doughnut shop, where Curiel hit on three women. The women said they weren’t interested and left, but Curiel and his friend followed the women outside, even though they made it clear they wanted to be left alone, prosecutors said.

Curiel persisted, and he swore at them and three other friends they had met up with, prosecutors said.

About 10 minutes later and drunk, prosecutors say Curiel, now behind the wheel of his car with his friend in the passenger seat, sped between 50 and 65 mph in a parking lot near the pier and tried to run over the three women and their friends.

All jumped out of the way, but one of the men was hit in the foot. Curiel lost control of the car and jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and crashed into several concrete benches, all of which were bolted to the cement, according to prosecutors.

Curiel hit the benches so hard they were uprooted and moved several feet, prosecutors claim.

Curiel faces six counts of attempted murder, six felony counts of aggravated assault, a felony count of hit and run while causing an injury, and two felony counts of driving under the influence and causing injury. Prosecutors have tacked on an enhancement for causing great bodily injury. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of all charges.

Curiel is being held in lieu of $1 million bail and is scheduled to be arraigned Sept. 19 at the Harbor Justice Center in Newport Beach.

Curiel’s friend was not charged with a crime.

JOSEPH SERNA may be reached at (714) 966-4619 or at joseph.serna@latimes.com.