Eric James Holmes left a Davis apartment complex intoxicated in February, crashed his truck and killed a woman.

Early Thursday morning, police arrived at the same complex to arrest four University of California, Davis, students on suspicion of serving alcohol to the 19-year-old Holmes on the night of the crash.

The arrests were the first in the region since the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control instituted a new program earlier this month to assist local law enforcement agencies in combating crashes related to underage drinking.

The Target Responsibility for Alcohol Connected Emergencies, or TRACE, program, provides law enforcement officials with 24-hour access to the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. The program allows the department to immediately begin tracing how minors involved in a crash obtained alcohol.

"In our line of work, we see a lot more than most people see," said Joe Galvan, a department investigator. "We see the tragic side of what happens - kids getting in their cars, dying or killing someone."

On Thurday, Galvan and six other officers arrested Conor Michael Tekautz, 19, Sergei Ivan Andres, 19, Brian William Soest, 20, and Timothy Brandon Gereg, 21, on suspicion of providing Holmes with alcohol in the early hours of Feb. 7, despite the fact that he was underage and intoxicated. Each faces misdemeanor charges with a maximum penalty of a year in jail, a $1,000 fine and the loss of their driver's license.

With what authorities said was a blood alcohol level of 0.15 percent, nearly twice the legal limit, Holmes left Soest's 20th birthday party at the Sterling University apartments, drove the wrong direction down Interstate 5 near the Sacramento airport and, at 2:43 a.m., crashed into a car driven by Amanda LeGrand, 34, of Marysville, Wash. LeGrand died soon after.

Her aunt, Tina Blackburn, sustained injuries to her head, foot, hand and collarbone. Last week, Holmes pleaded guilty to vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and was sentenced to six years in state prison.

Around 7:30 a.m. Thursday, officers from the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and the Davis Police Department knocked, simultaneously, on the doors of apartments 254 and 256 of 625 Cantrill Drive in Davis.

No one answered.

"They're probably still sleeping," Galvan said.

Finally, a young man in boxer shorts opened the door to 256, revealing cans of soda, piles of textbooks and a mostly empty gallon container of milk.

Police walked in, handcuffed Tekautz and Andres and escorted them outside.

Next door, a friend quietly helped a handcuffed Soest remove earrings and a tongue stud.

"You can't take any metal objects or anything that can be used as a weapon in jail," Galvan said.

Gereg was at crew practice but turned himself in later in the day.

"He's a very good young man, and this is a very difficult experience for him, as it would be for anybody," said Yana Berrier, Gereg's Sacramento attorney. "As you know, nobody's guilty until proven guilty."

Family members of the students would not comment on the arrests.

Ron Miller, program coordinator for Mothers Against Drunk Driving California, said he could not remember a case where criminal action has been taken against underage individuals for serving alcohol to another minor.

Miller noted that over the past few years the number of alcohol-related crashes nationwide has been increasing, after dropping significantly in the 1990s. Currently, he said, such crashes kill more than 17,000 people a year. Miller said he hopes Thursday's arrests and the TRACE program signify that "the tide has turned."

"This case, the arrest of these four individuals today, I think is an indication that that apathy may have come to an end in California," he said.

The four arrested are freshmen and sophomores at UC Davis, which has responded to alcohol-related incidents with a growing number of outreach programs.

Students can choose between a variety of alcohol-free Friday night activities, from casino nights to movies to bands.

They attend presentations on the dangers of alcohol and are given pocket-sized cards listing the effect a stipulated number of drinks has on blood alcohol levels. On their 21st birthdays, they receive cards from the university, asking them to drink responsibly.

The Davis Police Department also has worked with bars and restaurants to increase compliance with laws prohibiting the sale of alcohol to minors.

The apartment complex where the four students were arrested was the scene last weekend of a party that police say nearly turned into a riot.

More than 500 people were jumping on the hoods of cars, hanging from balconies and throwing bottles at officers, said Lt. Colleen Turray of the Davis Police Department. Backup units from other police departments were called to help quell the disturbance.

From her home in Tillamook, Ore., Tina Blackburn said she sympathizes with Holmes and those arrested.

But she said she wants them to take responsibility for the crash that injured her and killed her niece.

And she wants other young people to realize the tragedy that can result from drinking and driving.

"We just need to make them aware of the consequences," she said. "Do they want to grow up that fast?"