US: Indian-origin man found guilty of killing three boys who played doorbell prank
Anurag Chandra
An Indian-origin man in the US was convicted of killing three 16-year-old boys after they played a doorbell prank at his house in California in 2020.
Officials said that Anurag Chandra deliberately rammed his car into a Toyota Prius carrying six teenagers, causing it to crash into a tree. Three of the teens succumbed while others suffered injuries.
During his testimony, Chandra claimed that one of the teens flashed his buttocks before running away which made him “extremely, extremely mad”.
At the time of the incident, Chandra was said to be heavily drunk, with officers claiming that he had 12 beers that day.
He claimed that he was worried about his family’s safety, and hence followed the boys before ramming his car into theirs in Temescal Valley. Chandra then fled the scene.
The suspect further said that he never intended to escape as he did not think anyone would get injured or die after the crash.
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Chandra then admitted that he drove up to 99 miles per hour before the fatal crash.
USA Today quoting court records said Chandra was already facing charges foralleged battery on a cohabitant and child endangerment at the time.
The fatal ding-dong ditch tragedy
The tragedy occurred on January 19, 2020, when the teens were having a sleepover. One of them dared to either jump into a pool or do a "doorbell ditch," investigators said.
They drove to a nearby house, where one of the boys rang Chandra's doorbell and ran back to the Prius.
Chandra, officials said, chased after them in hisInfinity Q50. He rammed them and they crashed into a tree inTemescal Valley, about 60 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles.
Daniel Hawkins of Corona, Drake Ruiz of Corona, and Jacob Ivascu of Riverside, all 16, were killed. Sergio Campusano, 18 at the time, was driving the Prius. He and then-13-year-olds Joshua Hawkins and Joshua Ivascu survived the crash.
(With inputs from agencies)
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