The man charged with fatally hitting 20-year-olds Lizzy Zito and Arianna Gamber with a vehicle in downtown Charleston and fleeing the scene without calling for help will not remain jailed.
Magistrate Judge Amanda Stilley Haselden granted Max David Gentilin, 25, a $300,000 surety bond May 2, saying that "these are terrible cases" because the law requires her to set a bond on his two charges of hit and run with death or injury.
The charges stem from a weekend incident on Morrison Drive, near the pedestrian entrance to the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.
A citizen called just after 8:30 a.m. April 28 to report two people in the roadway. Zito and Gamber were walking north on Morrison Drive when a vehicle veered to the right, left the lane of travel and struck them, police said on May 1. Police matched vehicle debris found at the scene to a damaged dark grey 2010 Acura TL they discovered in a parking lot near the scene, leading to his arrest.
The families of both young women and Gentilin attended the bond hearing in Charleston County Magistrate Court on May 2. Gamber's family came in person; Zito's family appeared online. Zito's father said he could forgive an accident, but he can't forgive Gentilin for leaving his child to die.
Max David Gentilin, who investigators determined left the scene of a hit-and-run that killed Lizzy Zito and Arianna Gamber, appeared via video for a bond hearing in Charleston, Thursday, May 2, 2024.
"I can forgive a real accident, but to leave those two girls laying in the street like a piece of meat, I would never forgive that," Frank Zito said through tears and a voice raised with heartbreak.
"He has zero sympathy for life," the father continued. "He put a hole in our heart that will never be filled."
Gamber's mother, Arianna Gamber, said Gentilin leaving the scene without helping the victims shows he has no integrity.
Photos: Bond hearing for alleged driver in hit-and-run that killed two young women
Max David Gentilin, the 25-year-old charged with two counts of hit-and-run with death or injury after allegedly running into two young women and fleeing the scene without calling for help stood for his bond hearing on Thursday, May 2.
Nicole Gamber, Audrey Gamber and Cathe Stotts embrace after discussing Nicole's daughter Arianna Gamber on May 2, 2024, in Charleston.
"Both of them might still be here if he acted immediately," Gamber said.
Her daughter was so badly injured she wasn't allowed to see any of her body; she was only allowed to hold her daughter's hand, Gamber told the courtroom.
Lizzy Zito was a psychology major at the College of Charleston who was set to graduate in May. She loved animals and decided to work as a veterinary technician at an animal clinic near her hometown of Simpsonville while finishing her degree online. She and Arianna Gamber, who was also from Simpsonville, were visiting a friend in Charleston over the weekend.
Both girls would have turned 21 this month. Gamber was born May 22. Zito's birthday was May 26.
"Both of our families are completely destroyed," according to Gamber's sister, Alexis Gamber.
Gentilin stayed at his parents house on James Island after the incident, according to defense attorney Chris Adams, who reached out to police on Gentilin's behalf. He self-surrendered, the attorney told the court. His parents did not address the court; his mother held back tears.
Stephanie and Craig Gentilin, the parents of Max David Gentilin, who was arrested in connection with a hit-and-run that killed two women on April 28, sit in the audience of his bond hearing on May 2, 2024, in Charleston. The car their son was allegedly driving as he struck two women was registered in his parent's names, according to arrest warrant affidavits.
Gentilin does not have a criminal history. He received a speeding ticket in February and a stop sign violation in 2016. He was born and raised on James Island, and he graduated from James Island Charter High School in 2017. He attended college locally and currently works in the food and beverage industry. He owns a home in North Charleston, Adams said.
As conditions of his bond, he must turn in his driver's license and passport and refrain from contacting the victims' families. He will be on house arrest with a GPS monitor.
The investigation is still active. Additional charges are expected, police have said.
Anyone with information that may be pertinent to the investigation is asked to contact the Charleston Police Department Traffic Unit at 843-965-4084 or contact Crime Stoppers of the Lowcountry at 843-554-1111.
