Overzealous Prosecution

Let's say that A steals a car and is consequently being pursued by the police. A few miles away from the chase B and C exit a mall, get into separate cars, and, both being distracted by accounts of the chase while listening to a news channel proceed to crash into each other, killing all occupants of both cars. Is A responsible for the deaths of B and C and the occupants of their cars?

What if the shopping mall was along the route of the pursuit such that B and C became distracted by watching the chase in front of them and consequently crash into each other? Is A responsible for their deaths?

What if B and C were closely following the chase in their respective cars (perhaps they're thrill seekers) and, distracted by the events, they crash into each other, killing the occupants of both cars. Again, is A responsible?

Lastly, what if instead B and C were news reporters closely following the chase and, being distracted, crash into one another, killing all occupants in both vehicles? Is A now responsible? Put B and C in helicopters: Is A now responsible for their deaths? If so, at what point in the scenarios listed above did A become responsible for the deaths of B and C who chose to pursue the chase and whose negligent behavior led to their own deaths? (There were no fewer than four helicopters following this chase.)

Rick Gotchie, a Phoenix air-conditioning contractor working at a nearby building, was watching the helicopters circling the scene and noticed they were getting closer to each other, The Associated Press reported.

Why were they getting closer and closer to each other? Does it pay to be the one closest to the scene? Is this the fault of the idiot car thief?

What transpired was a tragic event, but the car thief is not culpable in their deaths, any more than he would be for the death of a man who suffers a heart attack while watching the story unfold on television.

This is why this is yet another overreaching by prosecutors.

Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris has said the suspect will likely also face criminal charges for the deaths of the four people on board the two helicopters.

Story here. Here's the video of the tragic crash.

Addendum: Edited for clarity and to add the link above.

Comments

[BJ Feng]

We can only hope a jury will see through this and find the defendant not guilty for those crimes.