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Acquittal in Drunken Homicide via GTA

Posted by Zonk on from the mario-made-me-do-it dept.

The Wisconsin State Journal has the news of an acquittal in a drunken homicide charge against a Madison-area 30 year old. The defendant admitted to being intoxicated before the crash that killed his passenger. The jury found him innocent after he presented his defense: the passenger caused the crash by forcing him to attempt a manuever they'd done in Grand Theft Auto. "In an emotional testimony on Thursday, DeMeo said that Alexander had put his hand on DeMeo's knee and made him push the accelerator down hard, then grabbed the emergency brake and sent the car into a skid. DeMeo said that Alexander was trying to perform a maneuver that both had done in a video game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, that they played regularly."

4 of 80 comments (clear)

  1. They bought it? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Interesting

    Okay, so we just have his word for it? That the passenger, who conveniently can't speak from the grave, forced him to do a handbrake turn?

    That's the real news. Who gives a damn about GTA? Handbrake turns have been present in Hollywood films for decades.

    1. Re:They bought it? by Mortlath · · Score: 5, Interesting
      I thought the following was really interesting:
      Humphrey said Alexander couldn't have interfered with DeMeo's driving because he was found moments after the crash still wearing a seat belt, his hands jammed into his pockets. He had suffered fatal head and heart injuries, Humphrey said, making it impossible for him to put his hands into his pockets after the crash.

      Meeker disagreed, saying in his closing argument that the car had been split open by the crash and Alexander could have put his hands in his pockets to keep warm.

      The article also mentions that the skid-marks didn't seem to indicate the use of the hand-brake either.

      Otherwise, I wonder that as games become more physically realistic, will more accidents result as more people try to pull crazy stunts they've done in video games?

    2. Re:They bought it? by NanoGator · · Score: 5, Interesting

      "Otherwise, I wonder that as games become more physically realistic, will more accidents result as more people try to pull crazy stunts they've done in video games?"

      There's a flip-side to think about. In GTA, dumb-ass pedestrians sometimes walk right out in front of you. Hit them, and the cops chase you. After some time with that game, I became more aware of pedestrians at crosswalks. I now watch what they're doing more intently before going around a corner, for example.

      No, it's not like I was running around mowing down peds before. I just mean that I drive more cautiously.

      --
      "Derp de derp."
  2. Re:Sick by 88NoSoup4U88 · · Score: 2, Interesting
    "If you don't know the difference between real life and a video game then you shouldn't by playing!"

    The guy at the gamestore is no psychiatrist...
    And if you have trouble distinguishing the real world from a game world, I guess you aren't the best person to judge yourself.