Nikki Catsouras Car Crash Photos and the Dark Side of Humanity on the Web
Grisly Photos of Nikki Catsouras' Death Went Viral on the Web
A few days after the accident, Nikki's father, Christos, who is a real estate agent, opened an e-mail that he thought to be a property listing. But that was far form the case. Instead, what he saw his daughter Nikki's blood-covered face accompanied by the following caption: "Whoohoo Daddy! Hey Daddy, I'm still alive."
Since that horrifying experience, the Catsourases have spent thousands of dollar in legal fees in an attempt to stop people from posting the Nikki Catsouras car crash photos online. Indeed, the Nikki Catsouris car crash photo controversy has morphed into a case about cyber-privacy and harassment.
How did the Nikkie Catsouras car crash photos end up on the Internet? According to Newsweek magazine, the routine accident photos were leaked by two CHP dispatchers. The Catsourases sued the CHP for negligence, invasion of privacy and emotional distress, but, in March of 2008, the case was dismissed by a California superior-court judge.
"No duty exists between the surviving family and defendant," reads the judge's opinion. Apparently, privacy laws do not extend to the dead, and the Catsouras case has established a legal precedent.
The Nikki Catsouras car crash photos punctuate the dark side of humanity on the Internet. A fake Nikki Catsouras MySpace page was created by someone or a group of people who seem to be lacking a conscience. As do some of the people who have been leaving comments. "That stupid rich girl deserved it," wrote one commenter. "What a waste of a Porsche," wrote another.
The anonymity of the web seems to give some cowardly people a sense of empowerment. I can attest to this because I write a lot of articles her on Associated Content that deal with hot button issues. I get a lot of sick and obscene comments from people who seem to take pleasure in denigrating their fellow human beings. It's really a sad commentary on the state of many peoples' values in 21st century America.
I hope that the Catsourases are successful in their endeavor to create laws that would prevent people from posting pictures that dishonor the dead and bring unfathomable pain to their families.
Source:
A Tragedy That Won't Fade Away, Jessica Bennett, Newsweek, April 25, 2009
Published by Hartley Engel
I was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada but raised in Los Angeles, California. I have a BA and MsEd degree from USC. View profile
-
Turn Your Photos into Cash
You may love capturing the most beautiful scenes on camera, but what do you do with all those photos? Do they just sit there and take up space on your hard drive, or are they pl...
-
Marketing Your Photos
You've built your portfolio by selling your photos to magazines, newspapers and etc. Now, through this article, you will discover how you can continue to build your portfolio by...
-
Wedding Photos - Where Can I Take Outdoor Photos in Southeast Michigan a...
Finding a place for outdoor photos is almost as important as picking the Hall or the Church! Find out how to pick a place as well as some great locations in Southeast Michigan.
-
Nude Celebrity Photos: 14 Celebrities that I Hope to Never, Ever See Naked
From Paris Hilton to Pamela Anderson, Vanessa Hudgens to Britney Spears. Fake or not, those celebrity nude photos seem to be everywhere. Our sex-obsessed society can't seem to g...
- The Jennifer Love Hewitt Bikini Photos: Is a Size 2 Woman Fat? The media frenzy over bikini photos of Ghost Whisperer star Jennifer Love Hewitt raises the question: When a size 2 woman is taunted for being fat, what does this say about our culture?
- New Scrapbook Technique Gives Dimension to Photos
- How to Use Your Digital Photos and Fabrics
- Baby Photos and the Art of Photography
- Adobe Photoshop Elements 4: Organizing Photos and Videos
- Reasons Why PCs Crash
- Review of Crash: Mind over Mutant for PS2
- Know About Car Insurance
|
|
19 Comments
Post a CommentI hope to god that nobody actually sent her father those horrible
photos. I accidentally saw them .....and was saddened at the teenage
mistake. The person that sent those pics should see a shrink ASAP. As
for the person who said that these pics are covered by our "founding
fathers"....you are flat out wrong. Founding fathers did not know
anything about photos or internet. If they would have known about the
power of technology, they would not have agreed to something like
this. "Getting over it " is hard to do when somebody sends you pics of
your dead daughter. We cannot simply hide behind a vale of history...things have changed over the period of a few hundred years. We know the difference between right and wrong...sharing pics of a dead little girl is flat out wrong.
These types of photo's have been published for years mostly in the California Highway Patrols Magazine. The Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. There is nothing in it about the expectation of privacy. On the contary, our founding fathers wanted our society to be free and open. When you start to decide what the people need to know and who should know it, you run into big problems. This is the price of freedom and the family should get nothing.
Sometimes bad things happen to good people, that is life get over it.
i actually knew her her, personally, she was a year behind me in high school, and hung out with my fairly tight knit group of scenesters and hipsters, so we knew each other, i moved away junior year and didint hear about it until like two years after it happened, she was so beautiful, it is unbelievable to think she was reduced to that, its also bullshit that everyone is calling her a spoiled brat, its only because of the porsche, at my school no one would have thought she was any more spoiled or rich than anyone else, though tesoro is like the wealthiest public high school in orange county so...she was actually very very quiet and reserved, had a quirky kind of artsy but quiet thing about her, weird looking back, thinking someone i personally knew would become famous for the worst accident photos ever, she was so quiet, never seemed the type to do anything that outrageous
Whoever sent that comment to the Catsourass family has to be kin to the devil
As a human with feelings, I would have to say to anyone who is or had posted photo's of Nikki is disturbed, disgusting and should be put away for doing something to horrible to a family. I recently had to go through a murder trial of a friend and seeing those pictures were horrible if anyone ever posted photos of my friend I would be pissed and angry, posting this photos doesnt help anyone learn a lesson, I can research information or be shown a video on driving but I dont need pictures of a human life dead to learn a lesson. Please help anyone who posting these photos and get them HELP!!
The blog actually got 508k unique visitors in May alone. All coming to see the Nikki Catsouras Porsche crash photos. Reactions have mostly been sheep-like but there are quite a few strong comments in support of my posting.
This comment is addressed to Malcolm Lambe:
It seems you are most interested in getting lots of hits to your blog & are happy to use someone else's misery to do that. I can't imagine you have anything to say that would edify anybody & I'm glad you posted your link so I can know to avoid every landing on it. Your attitude is disgusting. It's a shame I came to this article too late for you to see my response, but at least anybody who comes along after I did will have my words to consider about what you do with your blog.
cont'd with point #4. below.....When my mother taught me not to play with appliances, especially the stove/oven when I was a toddler, it was her "authoritative" stern voice and demeanor that caused me to listen and learn. She did not have to show me pictures of burned down house, burnt bodies, nor did she need to burn my hand on the stove. SO public: Stop dissimenating the photos under the auspices of "teaching your children". We're all connected, and we should be sending thoughts of healing to the family, and helping them in any way that we can, as opposed to further contributing to their grief.
I have no desire to see the photo's, and pray that the Catsouras family are able to get a bill passed soon that prevents some other jerk from committing this kind of "crime".
1. I just saw the CNN coverage today on this topic (May 6th), as the Father is trying to prevent crash photos from being depicted throughout the Internet. The 1st Question is, since when does CHP take it upon themselves to release information from a crash site? The release of information usually goes through an approval process internally within CHP/Police Departments and with the family involved, in cases like this.
2. I don't get the "I want to show my children"....this accident has nothing to do with Morales/what not to do. The Driver had a medical condition as a result of the childhood brain tumor, and who may have had a cocaine addiction.
3. When we teach our children when they're very young how to manage their thought processes, as the thoughts we entertain with intensity is what contributes to our behavior (good or bad/safe or dangerous). They don't need photos of this manner.
4. When my mother taught me not to play with appliances, especially the stove/oven w