daughter's mutiliated body - her parents receive emails of her crash

Last summer, I witnessed a crash on 635 and centerville here in Dallas. Two people in a honda was driving fast and erratic. While trying to switch lanes they clipped a car and lost control. Long story short, the passenger was thrown from the car skinning himself alive across three lanes, and as for the driver, he was decapitated on impact with his body lying on the road. The purpose of me telling you guys this is because of the number of people at the accident scene with their phones out taking pictures. Out of disgust, one guy went to his suv and took out a blanket and covered the body. As for me I barfed on the side of the road. Images like that stick with you for a long time.
 
UPDATE: Re: daughter's mutiliated body - her parents receive emails of her crash

queenlives said:
i don't have the time to find the related prime thread, but thought we should consider this in future postings:

***
Lasting images
Parents fight to clear the Internet of photos taken of their daughter after she was killed in a car crash.
By GREG HARDESTY
The Orange County Register

LADERA RANCH – Lesli Catsouras hasn't opened her e-mails in weeks.

Her husband, Christos, dreads having to use the Internet – fearful of what he accidentally may see.

They have banned their daughters – ages 15, 13 and 8 – from going online.

Losing oldest daughter Nikki, 18, in a car crash on Halloween has been hard enough on the Catsouras family.

Now, their heartache is compounded by outrage.

Graphic accident-scene photos, including close-up shots of Nikki, who suffered massive head trauma, have been leaked onto the Internet.

The images have turned up on hundreds of Web sites and in countless chat rooms and e-mails – from Australia to Italy. The photos often are accompanied by debates about the merits of the images, with many viewers even vilifying the dead teen.

"We're still just starting to deal with Nikki's death, and now this," said Christos Catsouras, 43. "People are sick."

The family blames the leak on the California Highway Patrol, the agency that is investigating the crash. The family has filed a claim against the state as a precursor to a civil lawsuit. The CHP is investigating.

As they continue to grieve, members of the Catsouras family also find themselves struggling to restore some dignity to Nikki's memory – and facing seemingly insurmountable odds to establish some decency in the sometimes insidious, unforgiving grip of the Internet.

The photos are so pervasive, Nikki's 15-year-old sister has stopped going to school out of fear of opening her locker and seeing a photo of her dead sister. She now is being home schooled.

A 12-year-old neighbor who accidentally saw the images is seeing a counselor, according to Christos Catsouras.

Some people have anonymously sent cruel, taunting e-mails to Nikki's relatives – including one to her father that read, "From Dead Girl Walking: Woo Hoo Daddy, I'm Alive."
CHALLENGE

A CHP official in Sacramento said the agency cannot discuss the claim filed by the Catsouras family and said the issue of the leaked images remains under investigation.

"We're trying to find out if these are our photos and, if they are, how they were made public," CHP spokesman Tom Marshall said.

Accident-scene photos are meant only for investigative purposes. CHP policy and the state vehicle code forbid them from being distributed publicly.

The CHP is sending notices to operators of Web sites that have posted the images, demanding that they immediately be taken down.

"We certainly do feel sorry for the family," Marshall said.

The Catsouras family has hired a company, Reputation Defender, also to demand that Web site operators remove the offending pictures.

The Catsouras family may face an uphill battle in trying to control use of the pictures on the Internet, said Brian Daucher, a civil litigator and partner with the Costa Mesa office of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton who specializes in Internet-related litigation.

"Unfortunately, the law is not always great at regulating human decency," said Daucher, who is not involved in the Catsouras case.

Rights that protect a living person against defamation or invasion of privacy don't necessarily extend past death, Daucher said.

The pictures of Nikki's body also have turned up in at least one class for DUI offenders in Orange County, even though alcohol did not play a factor in the 1:45 p.m. accident, according to the CHP.

Toxicological and autopsy reports are pending, the coroner said.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving strongly opposes the use of gory or graphic images.

"The gore factor doesn't necessarily translate to behavioral changes," said Gail Butler, executive director of the Orange County chapter of MADD. "It would be nice if things were that easy."

One Internet expert theorized about why people would view and circulate such images.

"In the online world, a person can be totally disconnected from the consequences of their actions," said Nancy Willard, executive director of the Center for Safe and Responsible Internet Use in Eugene, Ore.

"They can have no empathy. They can't see the harm being done."
FREE SPIRIT

By all accounts, Nikki was not the rich, spoiled partygoer who got drunk and crashed a Porsche given to her by her father – a fiction circulating online.

"She was a sweet, wonderful girl who never hurt anyone," said her mother, Lesli Catsouras.

Nikki had just started taking classes at Saddleback College in Mission Viejo. She had a passion for photography.

Nikki actually loved thrift stores and wanted to buy a beat-up '80s car, Johnson said.

In its claim, the Catsouras family cites emotional distress, loss of earnings and loss of consortium and seeks punitive damages, said attorney Tyler D. Offenhauser of Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara in Newport Beach.

"These images were posted solely for their 'shock and awe' value, without any consideration whatsoever for the feelings of the family," Offenhauser said. The 911 calls also are circulating online, he said.

The Catsouras family found out about the photos a few days after Nikki's funeral.

One of her cousins, Zoe, 19, got a text message on her cell phone.

When she opened it, she saw thumbnail images of the accident scene – one of Nikki shown slumped over and still strapped into the driver's seat, most of her head and face missing – and threw her phone down in shock.

The night before she died, Nikki had gotten into an argument with her father about "typical teenager stuff," Christos Catsouras said.

He disciplined her by taking away the keys to her car.

Nikki's mother said her daughter wasn't feeling well Oct. 31. She had a 3 p.m. appointment to see a doctor.

Christos Catsouras had lunch at home that day. He works five minutes away at a real estate office.

He recalled telling Nikki before he went back to the office that he loved her. She blew him a kiss and flashed him a peace sign.

After he left, Nikki walked to a key rack in the house and took the keys to her father's $150,000 Porsche – which Nikki had never driven, her father said.

The keys were hanging where they always were, with all the others.

Lesli Catsouras heard the garage door open and the car leave and called her husband, who called 911. He immediately drove around looking for her.

Nikki had taken off down the Eastern (241) Toll Road in his black 911 Carrera.

As she tried to pass a car that was going about 70 mph, she clipped it and lost control of the Porsche, the CHP said.

She slammed into a toll-booth building at Alton Parkway in Lake Forest.

Christos Catsouras' mind continually goes back to his last moments with his daughter.

Every day, he said, he kisses his daughters goodbye.

That day, he didn't kiss Nikki. In an interview, his eyes welled up. He fell silent.

Lesli Catsouras sat next to him, staring blankly ahead, her arms tightly crossed.

"She was our child," she said.
Click to expand...

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=3872556&page=1
i'm pleased to see the family's lawsuit is able to move forward.
 
nsxtra said:
Last summer, I witnessed a crash on 635 and centerville here in Dallas. Two people in a honda was driving fast and erratic. While trying to switch lanes they clipped a car and lost control. Long story short, the passenger was thrown from the car skinning himself alive across three lanes, and as for the driver, he was decapitated on impact with his body lying on the road. The purpose of me telling you guys this is because of the number of people at the accident scene with their phones out taking pictures. Out of disgust, one guy went to his suv and took out a blanket and covered the body. As for me I barfed on the side of the road. Images like that stick with you for a long time.
Click to expand...

Yes they do, the images burn into your brain. I worked in a morgue at the hospital for a short period of time almost 20 years ago. I can still remember the name of the first person I put in the cooler. That job sucked especially when children would come in. Sometimes it was more than I could handle and keep it together. I was usually fine if I didn't see the family. I always treated every single person with the same respect I would want my family treated. There were a couple of other people there who would joke around which I thought was not cool, and thats from me who jokes around all the time. I think it may have been their way of dealing with the stress of handling dead bodies.
 
I have the pics of this accident (drop top 911).

The girl is pretty (hence when there is any publicity of this - there are plenty of other people's demise on the net).

From a Macro level these pics serve the community by shock and aw to the point of thinking twice about drinking and driving for people that have a weak stomach and needs a "reminder".
 
I don't believe there was any drinking involved. She was speeding in excess of 100 mph in a Porsche taken without permission when she lost control and crashed.
 
In an autopsy revealed she had been recently ingested cocaine.

Nikki, at the age of 8 was diagnosed with a brain tumor and doctors didn’t think she would survive. As it turned out, the tumor was kind, but Nikki had to undergo intensive radiation. As a result, doctors told her parents the effects of that treatment on her young brain might show up at some point in the future by causing changes in her judgment or impulse control.

Sorry, but I'm ADVERSELY against drugs. Moreso than street racing which is less of a common.

More people die from drug overdose and die from the drug wars.

She won't have my sympathy.....
 
Vega$ NSX said:
I don't believe there was any drinking involved. She was speeding in excess of 100 mph in a Porsche taken without permission when she lost control and crashed.
Click to expand...

....... so when Nikki went in the house she grabbed her dads keys to the porche. "I remeber hearing the garage door open and then the car leave" Said Lesli Catsouras. Nikki then got drunk and drove off. Thats when she got in the accident..........

There were a few sites that talk about her coke, but those have the pics and I'm not going to link or PM anyone that.
 
BATMANs said:
....... so when Nikki went in the house she grabbed her dads keys to the porche. "I remeber hearing the garage door open and then the car leave" Said Lesli Catsouras. Nikki then got drunk and drove off. Thats when she got in the accident..........

There were a few sites that talk about her coke, but those have the pics and I'm not going to link or PM anyone that.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, I knew about the coke but the sources I read (also can't post) said that drinking was not involved.

"In an interview this week, Lesli Catsouras said Nikki had not been drinking but had used cocaine the night before the crash"

"Catsouras had not been drinking before the accident"

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2012/01/nicole_nikki_catsouras_chp_pho.php
 
The point was not that she was or was not coked up. It was that CHP took her photos (and they are disturbing, to say the least... and I've seen tons of dead people) and disseminated them for giggles.
 
I'm glad they got some compensation for dealing with that nightmare. I haven't looked at the photos, nor do I have any desire to.
Whoever leaked those photos should be fired.
 
Here folks knew that she had a tumor and was advised that it can impair her cognitive abilities.

In this case, reckless behavior.

The parents were reckless, IMHO by letting her outside of the house and into public roads with access to a machine that has the ability to transport people's souls to the afterlife.
 
I was going to look and then I couldn't look. I don't regret that decision reading some of the people's comments. That is absolutely horrible about how they are getting emails from people especially the Daddy I'm alive one. That's terrible.
People make bad decisions. It was a bad decision for this girl to drink and drive but it's also a bad decision for people to harass the family.
 
BATMANs said:
Here folks knew that she had a tumor and was advised that it can impair her cognitive abilities.

In this case, reckless behavior.

The parents were reckless, IMHO by letting her outside of the house and into public roads with access to a machine that has the ability to transport people's souls to the afterlife.
Click to expand...


IIRC she took the vehicle without permission. I don't know too many people who keep their car keys under lock and key.

That still isn't the point. The point was the CHP disseminated the photos for some reason.

Look at it this way. Your mom (you don't have kids, right?) is distracted on her cell phone, runs a light, and gets demolished by a semi. Head basically crushed flat, leg torn off, most of the pelvis missing, spine pushing through the skin of the abdomen, maybe the liver hanging out of a gaping hole.

Cops on the scene take crime scene photos, and then for kicks throw them on facebook. You start receiving them on your cell phone from wierdos.

You'd be pissed. Oh wait... she was on the cell.. it WAS her fault....
 
It was her fault but man, why do the cops put stuffs like that on the net and why do people sent it to the family? People are just cruel. I saw some early photos when they first surfaced online and if you haven't seen them, don't.
 
Last edited:
Ric said:
It was her fault but man, why do the cops put stuffs like that on the net and why do people sent it to the family? People are just cruel. I saw some early photos when they first surfaced online and if you haven't seen them, don't.
Click to expand...

I heard that people that come to the scene to "clean-up" the mess are making $300k/year....
 
BATMANs said:
Her folks were advised that her brain has issues related to judgement. With that sorta information as a parent they should have taken the necessary steps like taking the keys away from a potential road weapon and "lock" them.
Click to expand...

All teenagers have issues related to judgement. I made a few bad decisions back in the day...wrecked my car on a twisty road. Luckily I didn't die.

I have 3 daughters and we keep our car keys in a lockbox but the kids know where we keep the key. If they lose their car key, they need to be able to grab a spare key. The lockbox is meant for keeping the keys in one location and also for attempted burglery while you are gone.

I have been out of town and wondered if the kids would try to take the NSX for a spin. Luckily for me they didn't know how to drive a manual. Plus they know I keep track of the mileage....

Beuller?

Anyway, this issue is that the CHP leaked the accident scene photos and they should be held accountable.

Regardless whether the girls was pretty or rich, her family deserves respect for their privacy.
 
Big_D said:
All teenagers have issues related to judgement. I made a few bad decisions back in the day...wrecked my car on a twisty road. Luckily I didn't die.

I have 3 daughters and we keep our car keys in a lockbox but the kids know where we keep the key. If they lose their car key, they need to be able to grab a spare key. The lockbox is meant for keeping the keys in one location and also for attempted burglery while you are gone.

I have been out of town and wondered if the kids would try to take the NSX for a spin. Luckily for me they didn't know how to drive a manual. Plus they know I keep track of the mileage....

Beuller?

Anyway, this issue is that the CHP leaked the accident scene photos and they should be held accountable.

Regardless whether the girls was pretty or rich, her family deserves respect for their privacy.
Click to expand...

This segways into another topic:

American culture and the lack of respect the kids have for the elders.

If your daughters didn't listen to you (and you knew they had brain/judgement issues), grabbed ur NSX keys for reckless intent then they just weaponized the NSX.

Crash into me (where I'm paralyzed and can't use my penis for my and my gal(s) heavenly pleasures) or someone I care about then you won't have much of a retirement savings left after it's all said and done.

Then what do you do? become a full born democrat and talk about redistribution of wealth, etc.?

How about this? You have an argument with ur daughters. They hit 18 and start doing porn. Acceptable behavior in your house where Tyrone is doing some major plundering? I don't think so.

The fact that parents are afraid of child protective services coming in their house and taking the kids away from a simple spanking allows the kids to be reckless at the expense of others freedoms and the pursuit of happiness........
 
I think its more of an issue that a lot of parents are too lazy to be tough and follow through with disciplinary action. They want to be more like a friend and not a parent. Bad move.


Just because she took the keys to take the car for a joyride doesn't prove wreckless intent. Especially if she had never done that before.


I think that a settlement would depend on how much insurance coverage they have and whether the kid has a prior history.


My girls know that just because they are adults they can't do anything they want because they still live under my roof. Once they move out, then I don't have as much influence in their decision making process anymore...or the Liability.
 
2gkh.jpg
 

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