Oscars and Grammy Director Marty Pasetta Killed in La Quinta by Suspected Drunk Driver

By City News Service, image via Shutterstock

Longtime Oscars and Grammy director Marty Pasetta was identified today as the victim of a fatal vehicle crash in La Quinta.

Pasetta, 82, of La Quinta, was struck by a vehicle whose driver had left the engine running and the transmission engaged as he exited the vehicle Thursday night. Pasetta and died at the scene.

Pasetta directed Academy Awards telecasts from 1972-88, six Grammys telecasts and live coverage of a 1973 Elvis Presley concert in Hawaii.

Pasetta also directed concerts by Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby.

“When you were going to do a live show, Marty was the first guy you would think of,” Pasetta’s friend and publicist Jim Flood told The Desert Sun.

Another unidentified passenger in the vehicle was hospitalized with serious injuries.

The 75-year-old driver of the vehicle, Keith Stewart, also of La Quinta, was booked today today on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

The accident occurred around 9:25 p.m. Thursday in the 49700 block of Via Conquistador, a cul-de-sac adjoining the Rancho La Quinta County Club, when Stewart stopped to allow passengers to exit his vehicle, said La Quinta police Sgt. Chris Frederick.

Frederick said Stewart then also exited the vehicle but without disengaging the transmission or turning the engine off. The vehicle then struck the two passengers, Frederick said. After undergoing hospital treatment for minor injuries, Stewart was booked at the county jail in Indio on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and DUI, according to jail inmate records. His bail was set at $50,000 and he is due to appear before a judge at the Larson Justice Center in Indio Wednesday.