Cebu_4_2
18th August 2013, 05:37 PM
Tweets contribute to charging driver with murder in fatal bike accident An 18-year-old will see charges changed from manslaughter to murder. by Megan Geuss (http://arstechnica.com/author/megan-geuss/) - Aug 18, 2013 12:35 am UTC
(http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/tweets-contribute-to-charging-driver-with-murder-in-fatal-bike-accident/?comments=1)
An 18-year-old man from Pleasanton, California has seen charges against him increased from vehicular manslaughter to murder due, in part, to some tweets in which he bragged about his reckless driving. The man, Cody Hall, is being held in an Alameda county jail without bail, waiting for a trial.
On June 9, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Murder-charge-for-Pleasanton-driver-in-bike-fatal-4733084.php), Hall was allegedly driving 83 mph in a 40 mph zone and lost control of his car as he tried to pass another vehicle. The speeding car struck two bikers, killing one, 58-year-old Diana Hersevoort, and injuring the other biker, Hersevoort's husband. Hall stayed around after the crash and spoke with police but he declined to give a statement at the time.
When police concluded their investigation in July, they arrested Hall for vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving. Hall was released on bail, but this week the Alameda District Attorney's office decided to increase the weight of the charges against Hall and slapped him with a murder charge (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/16/212570133/after-fatal-crash-with-cyclists-drivers-tweets-help-spur-murder-charge?ft=1&f=1001). Authorities told the San Francisco Chronicle that this move comes after a review of Hall's driving record and some tweets he posted in which he bragged about his reckless driving.
To prove second-degree murder, the government must show 'implied malice,' that a driver engaged in an intentional, unlawful act done with conscious disregard for the risk to human life, the Chronicle wrote.
Hall's Twitter account has been made private, but Pleasanton Patch (http://pleasanton.patch.com/groups/editors-picks/p/driver-in-fatal-collision-used-social-media-to-talk-about-fast-driving) reported that in the months before the crash, the teenager had bragged of driving 140 mph and posted tweets saying "Drive fast live young," and "Someone come on a death ride with me !!!"
Hall hasn't been the only one to get heat from the authorities, either. When serving a warrant on Hall's house, his father Aaron Hall, a twice-convicted felon, found himself charged with weapons violations after police allegedly found two illegal assault rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition in his house.
(http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/08/tweets-contribute-to-charging-driver-with-murder-in-fatal-bike-accident/?comments=1)
An 18-year-old man from Pleasanton, California has seen charges against him increased from vehicular manslaughter to murder due, in part, to some tweets in which he bragged about his reckless driving. The man, Cody Hall, is being held in an Alameda county jail without bail, waiting for a trial.
On June 9, according to the San Francisco Chronicle (http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Murder-charge-for-Pleasanton-driver-in-bike-fatal-4733084.php), Hall was allegedly driving 83 mph in a 40 mph zone and lost control of his car as he tried to pass another vehicle. The speeding car struck two bikers, killing one, 58-year-old Diana Hersevoort, and injuring the other biker, Hersevoort's husband. Hall stayed around after the crash and spoke with police but he declined to give a statement at the time.
When police concluded their investigation in July, they arrested Hall for vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving. Hall was released on bail, but this week the Alameda District Attorney's office decided to increase the weight of the charges against Hall and slapped him with a murder charge (http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2013/08/16/212570133/after-fatal-crash-with-cyclists-drivers-tweets-help-spur-murder-charge?ft=1&f=1001). Authorities told the San Francisco Chronicle that this move comes after a review of Hall's driving record and some tweets he posted in which he bragged about his reckless driving.
To prove second-degree murder, the government must show 'implied malice,' that a driver engaged in an intentional, unlawful act done with conscious disregard for the risk to human life, the Chronicle wrote.
Hall's Twitter account has been made private, but Pleasanton Patch (http://pleasanton.patch.com/groups/editors-picks/p/driver-in-fatal-collision-used-social-media-to-talk-about-fast-driving) reported that in the months before the crash, the teenager had bragged of driving 140 mph and posted tweets saying "Drive fast live young," and "Someone come on a death ride with me !!!"
Hall hasn't been the only one to get heat from the authorities, either. When serving a warrant on Hall's house, his father Aaron Hall, a twice-convicted felon, found himself charged with weapons violations after police allegedly found two illegal assault rifles and thousands of rounds of ammunition in his house.