Paul Pelton isn’t the first person to film a fatal car crash. Head to YouTube and you’ll find a plethora of crash videos. However, Pelton is now known globally as a man who’d rather film teens dying in a horrible accident than offer any kind of assistance. It’s a stance that shocked locals and landed Paul in jail.
On Monday evening in Loraine, Ohio, Paul Pelton came across a horrific scene. Seventeen-year-old Zachary Goodin lost control of his Honda sedan, which flew over railroad tracks and crashed into a house. Goodin was badly hurt but would survive the accident. The passenger, 17-year-old Cameron Friend, was not as lucky. He was eventually taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center, where he later succumbed to his injuries.
#Ohio man films dying teens instead of helping them, gets arrested. http://t.co/CbTLxU8NXh pic.twitter.com/6PkTzw10IQ
— Carbonated.TV (@CarbonatedTV) July 17, 2015
As the teens laid in the burning vehicle, Paul gained access to the car by opening the back door. He didn’t do so to help — instead, Pelton was trying to get footage of the aftermath of the crash. He even referred to the severely injured teens as “idiots” in the video.
Incredibly, Paul Pelton not only failed to offer any immediate assistance to the two teenagers, but he also failed to contact police or first responders. His cold indifference to the suffering didn’t end there. Pelton soon after contacted local news stations with his footage of the young men’s agony, hoping to make a few bucks. The stations he reached out to weren’t interested.
Police have arrested a man who recorded cell phone video moments after a fiery crash that killed a 17-year-old boy. http://t.co/uOCubXE5Gl
— KENS 5 (@KENS5) July 17, 2015
Pelton later posted the video on Facebook under the name “Paul Santucci.” Upon learning of the video, Loraine police decided to act. The problem was that finding a crime with which to charge the “Bad Samaritan” would prove difficult. Lorain Police Detective Buddy Sivert told Reuters that there is no law against filming someone dying and refusing to help.
Because it was the scene of an accident, Paul Pelton was charged with vehicular trespassing. Pelton, perhaps sensing the inevitable backlash for his behavior, has since posted a public apology .
“I want to offer a public apology to the families of the kids that got injured or deceased in the car accident. I never intended it to be a video that came across as a gore video. I wanted to put the video out there so other kids could see it and learn from the mistake of speeding and driving recklessly.”
[Image Credit: Lorain Police Department/Washington Post]
