Driver in Fatal Crash Released From Custody : Investigation: Police want to complete blood tests and interviews with survivors before deciding whether to seek charges.

The 17-year-old driver of a car involved in a desert crash that killed four Orange County teen-agers was released from San Bernardino County Juvenile Hall on Tuesday as police continued their investigation.

“Obviously he feels a lot of stress,” David Patterson said of his son, James. “He feels a tremendous sense of loss.”

Patterson said that his son, who faces possible charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and felony vehicular manslaughter, was too distraught to talk about the accident.

“He is aware that, despite the fact that he’s with family now, this is not over and it’s something he will have with him for the rest of his life,” the father said.

The accident occurred early Saturday as James Patterson and seven friends, all students at Katella High School in Anaheim, were returning home from an overnight camping trip along an isolated dirt road near Victorville. According to police reports, Patterson lost control of the 1987 Chevrolet Suburban he was driving and veered into the desert, where the car flipped and rolled several times. Police said they found more than 40 empty beer cans near the wreckage and that the driver appeared to be drunk.

Prosecutors said Tuesday that they would wait until the conclusion of a police investigation, expected to take about two weeks, before deciding whether to file charges.

“We want a full and thorough investigation before we decide what we’re going to do regarding prosecution,” said Karen Bell, a San Bernardino County supervising district attorney. “It’s a serious, serious case, and it should be thoroughly investigated and evaluated objectively.”

Among other things, Bell said, investigators still need to interview three boys who were seriously injured in the accident and analyze the results of blood tests.

Patterson would be tried in San Bernardino County juvenile court. If he were found guilty, the case then would be transferred to Orange County juvenile court for disposition, which could range from probation to detention at the California Youth Authority.

“Four people are dead,” Bell said. “This is such a tragedy; it’s just so sad.”

One of the victims, 16-year-old Jonothon Fabbro Curtis, will be buried today in a private service in Newport Beach. The family of John Thornton, 18, will have a memorial service in his honor at 7 p.m. Thursday at Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Anaheim. Services for both Stephen Bender, 18, and Anthony Fuentes, 17, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday--Bender’s at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, and Fuentes’ at St. Gregory the Great Church in Whittier.

Patterson’s family, meanwhile, is taking things a step at a time.

“We feel tremendous grief for the families of the boys who are deceased,” Patterson said. “My prayer at this point is that no other parent will ever have to live through what we’ve lived through these past days.”