A harmless prank spiraled into tragedy when a California man, angered by a prank done by some teens, slammed his car into a vehicle filled with six boys after they left his residence.
Anurag Chandra was found guilty on three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder for the incident that took place on January 19, 2020, in Temescal Valley, about 60 miles outside downtown Los Angeles.
The six teenagers, just trying to have some fun, were engaged in a “ding dong ditch” prank. One of them rang Chandra’s doorbell, mooned him, and then dashed away. Sadly, their innocent joke sparked a deadly chain reaction. Chandra, who wasn’t acquainted with the teens, admitted in court that he chased them because he was concerned about his family’s safety and because he was “extremely, extremely mad” about the prank.
The chase ended in Chandra’s car forcing the teenagers’ Toyota Prius off the road before Chandra fled the scene. In a futile attempt to regain control, the Prius driver crashed into a tree, resulting in the death of three 16-year-old passengers: Daniel Hawkins, Drake Ruiz, and Jacob Ivascu.
During the trial, Chandra revealed he had consumed 12 beers in the hours leading up to the accident. He claimed he didn’t intend to collide with the Prius, and he didn’t stop after rear-ending the vehicle because he wasn’t aware of any injuries. Yet, he confessed to driving at a reckless 99 mph.
The survivors, 18-year-old driver Sergio Campusano and 13-year-olds Joshua Hawkins and Joshua Ivascu, were witnesses to the accident and testified in court. They were present in the courtroom when the verdict was delivered.
