Ohio man arrested after he films car crash – Video

LORAIN, OHIO — An Ohio man has been charged with vehicular trespass after he entered the wreckage of a fatal car crash to film the scene without offering help to either of the trapped victims.

Paul Pelton, who arrived at the scene seconds after the crash, was arrested after he uploaded the video to facebook and tried to sell it to several news organizations.

Late Monday night, two 17-year-olds, Zack Goodin and Cameron Friend, were driving north along Kansas Avenue. Shortly after crossing a set of train tracks, the driver, Goodin, lost control of the car.

The 1999 Honda first veered right into a pole, before crossing the center line before crashing into the side of a house and coming to rest against a tree.

Pelton arrived at the scene before emergency services, but instead of helping, he began filming the wreck, and could be heard on video calling the victims “idiots.” Pelton then opened the back door of the car and leaned in to film without helping either of the trapped teens.

Rescuers are often protected under “Good Samaritan laws,” that offer legal safeguards to people giving assistance in emergencies, but authorities have argued that Pelton made no attempt to help the victims.

In an interview with ABC 5, Pelton denied that he was trying to film some kind of “gore video.” He defended his actions, saying there was nothing he could do and he was trying to help the police by collecting footage.

The whole incident is eerily similar to events in the film Nightcrawler, starring Jake Gyllenhal where he played as an accident-chasing cameraman who begins blurring the lines between bystander and active participant in pursuit of the shot.