I posted items on both those accidents which in both cases drew a lot of comments, not all of them very civil. I finally had to block further comments because it was getting out of hand. There have been a steady stream of searches on both of these names, and I think I now know why.
I didn't get a chance to read yesterday's paper, so I took it and today's paper with me and over lunch, discovered to my surprise somewhat disturbing follow-ups on both of these accidents. From yesterday's Orange County Register there's this:
You can order pizza online.
You can date online.
And now you can mourn online.
In an age when everything is digitized, a new trend has risen – visiting a grave site on the Internet.
Web sites like MyDeathSpace.com, a sort of obituary mecca for MySpace.com members who have died, are being used by mortuaries, newspapers and the public.
A recent death posted to MyDeathSpace, No. 570, shows a picture of Laguna Niguel teen Parees Ghassemian standing with a friend near the car he died in.
On Sept. 25, a discussion about street racing led to a spontaneous race between Ghassemian, 18, and a friend. The contest ended when Ghassemian totaled his cherished BMW M3 and was killed, according to news reports.
Heidi Rabmanesh, 17, of Laguna Niguel, a high school friend of Ghassemian, visits his MySpace page daily.
"I write him comments sometimes and I like looking at his pictures," she said. "Some of them are so random and they make me laugh when I'm in a bad mood."
MyDeathSpace is not affiliated with MySpace and is a little different from its namesake. Anyone – not just designated friends – can post comments. After Ghassemian's article showed up, one person posted that he deserved to die for making a bad decision.
I guess people mourn in different ways, but the whole thing seems a little creepy to me.
Then on the front page of today's Register, there's this disturbing story about the other accident:
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.
One day while I was trying to figure out why there were so many inquiries on this girl's name I did a search of my own and found the pictures mentioned above. I was shocked to see them, not only because of grisly and gruesome nature of the accident scene, but because the pictures were posted on a public website. I had always assumed that crime scene or accident photos like that would be kept confidential for police or court use only. How they got out is something that should be investigated, and if the law was violated, somebody should be prosecuted. I can certainly understand the family's distress over the publication of these photos.
I published these stories initially because of my concern over the rash of teen deaths in high speed accidents that had occurred in South Orange County. Just this weekend I heard that a friend of mine had lost his 18 year old daughter in an auto accident (though it doesn't appear that she was speeding or racing at the time). I have an 18 year old daughter, and it's a shame that one bad decision can have such a devastating impact on a family.
UPDATE: Thousands of you are looking for the crash photos. Click here.
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