Paul Pelton, 41, of Lorain, Ohio, has been charged with vehicle trespass, a fourth degree misdemeanor, after law enforcement could not figure out any other laws he had broken.
"We searched to try to find anything to charge him with. It is not a crime to stick a camera where a kid is dying or try to sell it," Lorain Police Detective Buddy Sivert told Reuters.
Cameron Friend, 17, the passenger of the vehicle, was unconscious and suffering from life-threatening injuries. Goodin was incapacitated and “clearly injured,” according to the police.
"While others were rendering aid to these boys, a male took the opportunity to video this horrible scene with his cell phone. In the video, the male makes comments that the boys were 'idiots,' and holds his cell phone so that he can film these two boys who were in medical crisis. The male then opens the back door of this vehicle and leans in to continue capturing video,” Captain Roger Watkins wrote in an update on the Lorain Police Department’s Facebook page.
At no time did Pelton render assistance to the victims, or even attempt to comfort them.
After medics arrived, Friend was taken to a hospital where he later died.
“The person who took this video does not, at that time, elect to turn the video over to Police to assist in the investigation, instead choosing to post the video to Facebook. He then approaches at least two news organizations and attempts to sell the video of the dying and injured boys for a profit,” Watkins continued on to say in the Facebook statement.
Pelton has since uploaded a new video, according to ABC, apologizing and making excuses for his actions.
"I want to offer a public apology to the families of the kids that got injured or deceased in the car accident. I never intended it to be a video that came across as a gore video," said Pelton in the video obtained by WOIO-TV. "I wanted to put the video out there so other kids could see it and learn from the mistake of speeding and driving recklessly."
Pelton also now claims that he did not try to “sell” the video, but rather offered the footage for free in exchange for a donation to his “private charity,” the local ABC affiliate reported.
"The Lorain Police Department would like to remind citizens that they are allowed and encouraged to help one another in emergencies if they can do so safely, and that rendering aid or comfort to a dying young man and his severely injured friend is a commendable and kindly act. Persons are not, however, allowed to trespass into a person's vehicle criminally and without permission for the seemingly singular cause of filming, a young man's dying moments, for profit. Thank you again to the citizens who rendered aid to these young men on this tragic evening," Captain Roger Watkins concluded his Facebook post.
