Two Pennsylvania teenagers are going through fees after prosecutors stated they drove their pals on harmful TikTok-inspired stunts, killing one and inflicting what are anticipated to be lifelong accidents to a different.
Whereas the district legal professional’s workplace known as out TikTok and Instagram by identify, comparable movies have appeared on different apps and social media websites as nicely.
A TikTok spokesperson stated movies involving desk and automobile browsing violate the corporate’s group pointers and that 99.8% of them are eliminated proactively, and 92.4% of movies eliminated for violating the app’s guidelines are taken down earlier than anybody views them.
The incidents had been unrelated to 1 one other and concerned completely different stunts, however each occurred in Northampton County, 85 miles west of New York Metropolis and 80 miles north of Philadelphia.
In a single case, a 17-year-old died on June 1 whereas using on prime of a folding desk tied to the again of his pal’s automobile, based on Northampton County District Legal professional Stephen Baratta.
Prosecutors stated the pal recklessly drove too quick and “whipped the rider sitting on the desk into one other parked automobile, leading to [his] demise,” Baratta’s workplace stated in a press release.
The sufferer in that case was recognized as David Nagy, 17, FOX 29 Philadelphia reported.
Within the different case, a 19-year-old girl allegedly drove by way of a car parking zone along with her 20-year-old pal “browsing” on her trunk on March 18.
The girl on the trunk fell off and suffered “catastrophic head accidents that can be everlasting in nature,” Baratta’s workplace stated.
Neither teen is accused of “criminogenic considering,” which means they aren’t accused of planning to harm their pals.
Nevertheless, Baratta stated, they’re allegedly criminally culpable as a result of the incidents had been “so grossly negligent and reckless.”
“The households did have a closeness and a belief with these shut pals — I imply they knew them very nicely,” Baratta advised reporters at a information briefing attended by FOX 29. “That’s what’s so heartbreaking on this case.”
Baratta added that neither driver has a prison report and neither sufferer’s household is “calling out for incarceration.”
In consequence, he stated his workplace gained’t search jail time for both of them if they comply with plea offers.
He stated the households need to use the instances within the hope that different teenagers will make higher selections.
“These households are looking for accountability and hope that these fees will end in deterrence for different youth who could discover themselves drawn to the joys of mimicking harmful social media challenges which have the potential to injure others,” his assertion stated.The damaging stunts aren’t simply restricted to Pennsylvania. The same automobile browsing stunt in Utah left a 15-year-old lady with a extreme mind damage final yr.
