'Me Driving Like an Idiot' Video Gets Fla. Teen Arrested
Want to make your local police department's day? Upload video footage of yourself committing multiple felonies and misdemeanors to YouTube and give it an incriminating title like "Me Driving Like an Idiot."
That's exactly what police say 18-year-old Robert Charles Kelly IV of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, did, reports The Daytona Beach News-Journal, becoming just the latest online over-sharer to face jail time for uploading video footage of his or her exploits to YouTube.
The Young and the Reckless
Although the video of Kelly's alleged joyride has since been removed from YouTube, clips from the video -- including footage of someone who police say is Kelly ramming his 1994 Honda into the back of another car -- can be seen in this report from Orlando's WFTV:
Following the crash shown in the video, police say that Kelly fled the scene and struck three more vehicles stopped at a red light. Kelly had to be extricated from his vehicle and taken by helicopter to a local hospital. Police declined to arrest him at the time because they feared he was seriously injured.
Sharing Is (Not) Caring (About the Possible Legal Ramifications)
However, the next day a video of the incident, titled "Me Driving Like an Idiot" and shot from inside what appeared to be Kelly's vehicle, appeared on YouTube. Though it has since been removed, police are using the video to charge Kelly with a number of crimes, including two felony counts of leaving the scene of an accident, reckless driving, and driving without a license, with more possible charges pending.
Though certainly not the first reckless driver to get busted for a YouTube video, Kelly would perhaps be the most brazen; his joyride sent three people to the hospital, not counting himself. Along with criminal charges, it's highly likely that Kelly will be facing civil personal injury lawsuits as well.
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