A California man was convicted of homicide on Friday after being accused of killing three 16-year-olds by ramming their car together with his in 2020 after they performed a doorbell prank.
Authorities mentioned Anurag Chandra fled after deliberately ramming his automobile right into a Toyota Prius with six youngsters inside, inflicting it to crash right into a tree. Three of the teenagers died and the others had been injured.
A jury discovered him responsible of three counts of first-degree homicide and three counts of tried homicide.
“The homicide of those younger males was a horrendous and mindless tragedy for our neighborhood. I thank the jury for his or her verdict. This is a crucial step towards justice,” Riverside County District Legal professional Mike Hestrin mentioned in a press release.
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Ding-dong ditch ends in tragedy
On Jan. 19, 2020, the teenagers had been having a sleepover when certainly one of them was dared to both soar right into a pool or do a “doorbell ditch,” investigators mentioned.
They drove to a close-by home, the place one of many boys rang Chandra’s doorbell and ran again to the Prius.
Chandra, officers mentioned, chased after them in his Infinity Q50. He rammed them they usually crashed right into a tree in Temescal Valley, about 60 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Daniel Hawkins of Corona, Drake Ruiz of Corona, and Jacob Ivascu of Riverside, all 16, had been killed. Sergio Campusano, 18 on the time, was driving the Prius. He and then-13-year-olds Joshua Hawkins and Joshua Ivascu survived the crash.
Chandra mentioned he was ‘extraordinarily mad,’ had been ingesting
Chandra testified throughout his trial that one of many teenagers rang the doorbell and uncovered his buttocks. Chandra mentioned he was “extraordinarily, extraordinarily mad” and had drunk 12 beers within the hours beforehand, the Riverside Press-Enterprise reported.
He mentioned he did not plan to harm the youngsters, and mentioned he did not cease after the collision as a result of he did not notice anybody was harm, although he admitted to driving 99 miles per hour.
Data confirmed Chandra was already going through costs for alleged battery on a cohabitant and little one endangerment on the time.
An lawyer representing Chandra didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark from USA TODAY on Saturday.
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Boys had been goofy, ‘relished dwelling,’ household members mentioned
Relations described the boys as fun-loving, goofy and lively within the wake of the murders. Church leaders mentioned they had been amongst a tight-knit group of teenagers who participated in a youth group locally.
“They relished dwelling … life itself was celebratory,” Craig Hawkins, the daddy of Daniel and Joshua Hawkins, advised USA TODAY in 2020.
Craig Hawkins mentioned they had been enthusiastic about having an impromptu sleepover, and deliberate on consuming junk meals and enjoying video video games.
They had been simply enjoying ding-dong ditch, “did not all of us do this?” Craig Hawkins mentioned.
Contributing: Joel Shannon and Ryan Miller, USA TODAY
