Mother of Rampage Killer Acquitted of Hit-And-Run

Sarwat Syed was tried on a felony hit-and-run charge for a 2011 crash. Her son went on a fatal shooting rampage before killing himself in 2013.

A jury acquitted a woman, whose son went on a fatal shooting spree before committing suicide, of hit-and-run charges in her own criminal case that seriously injured three people, including a 4-year-old girl.

Sarwat Syed was acquitted on Friday in an Orange County courtroom of the felony charges connected to a 2011 crash on the San Diego Freeway in Irvine.

The crash injured three people when their car slid off the freeway and into a concrete culvert. Prosecutors say Syed failed to stop.

The 4-year-old girl, who's now 6, suffered a broken nose and jaw in the crash and spent 27 days in the hospital.

The girl's family called the acquittal a "travesty."

“Disappointed is a huge understatement,” the girl's father, Robert O'Connor, said on Saturday. "We did our best. We got our day in court."

Syed garnered headlines when her son, Ali, went on a shooting rampage that killed three people in February before he committed suicide.

Local

Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.

PCH closed for fatal crash investigation in Malibu area

Everything you need to know about the Dodgers Opening Week at Chavez Ravine

Syed's attorney, Vincent LaBarbera Jr., said the acquittal is a mixed blessing.

"(Syed's) heart goes out to the victims," he said. "We worked for over two years for a jury to hear her side of the story."

More Southern California Stories:

Contact Us