People in San Diego may have heard about a California teenager who was recently charged with murder after hitting and killing a cyclist on a road in Dublin, east of San Francisco, last month. The teenager was charged with vehicular manslaughter after the bicycle accident, but once police discovered his chilling twitter posts, including phrases like “live fast die young,” upped the charge to murder.
The victim, a 58-year-old woman, was killed instantly when she was hit by the 18-year-old, who was allegedly going 83 miles per hour in a zone marked for 40 miles per hour. Her husband, cycling next to her at the time of the crash, survived but suffered serious injuries including a broken arm.
Police combed the teenage driver’s twitter account thoroughly, and found such frightening statements as “come on a death ride with me” and pictures he had taken of his speedometer while traveling at high speeds. He also bragged about using Interstate 5 as his own personal drag strip, reaching speeds of 140 miles per hour.
This young man was like a ticking time bomb, and his actions and words show that he had callous indifference for the safety of others or himself. Distracted drivers are one thing but those who intentionally drive with no regard for the safety of others and who brag about racing on public roads and joke about killing people on twitter extend beyond negligence, which is why the young man will face murder charges.
Sadly, an innocent victim lost her life and a husband lost his wife, but they should be able to collect damages for the woman’s wrongful death, as well as any injuries and medical expenses sustained by the survivor of the bicycle accident.
Source: Mail Online “Teenage driver becomes first person to be charged with murder because of a Twitter post in which he boasted of his love of speeding,” Paul Thompson, Aug. 18, 2013
