In June, Vincent Canzani, 61, was killed near Columbus, Ohio, when a driver veered onto the wrong side of Interstate 670 and caused a five-vehicle crash.
On Friday, a 22-year-old confessed on YouTube to being the man responsible for Canzani's death.
"My name is Matthew Cordle and on June 22, 2013, I hit and killed Vincent Canzani," he says into the camera. "This video will act as my confession."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
The video starts with Cordle's face and voice distorted as he describes "hopping from bar to bar," before he "made a mistake" and got in his truck "completely blacked out."
The picture and sound clear to dramatic music before he confesses and delivers his message:
I beg you, and I say the word beg specifically, I'm begging you, please don't drink and drive. Don't make the same excuses that I did. Don't say it's only a few miles or you've only had a few beers ...
I can't bring Mr. Canzani back, and I can't erase what I have done, but you can still be saved. Your victims still can be saved.
Ron O'Brien, the prosecutor for Franklin County, which includes Columbus, told The Columbus Dispatch that he saw the video and would ask a grand jury to indict Cordle on charges of aggravated vehicular homicide, which carries a sentence of two to eight years in prison.
"It's the most compelling video I think I have seen," O'Brien told the Dispatch. "He strikes me as remorseful and sincere."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Cordle was a suspect in the car crash but was never charged. The video was filmed by Alex Sheen of Cleveland and placed on his site Becauseisaidiwould.com, which calls itself a "social movement dedicated to bettering humanity through the power of a promise."
Sheen, in the words of BetaBeat's Jessica Roy, "will most likely encounter some blowback for using a manslaughter confession to market his budding nonprofit startup," which is why he was careful to note that Cordle reached out to him "against all legal advice" and "decided to make this video and release it prior to any charges being filed against him."
Keith Wagstaff is a staff writer at TheWeek.com covering politics and current events. He has previously written for such publications as TIME, Details, VICE, and the Village Voice.
Trump vs the WHO
The best dystopian TV shows to watch in 2025
Foreigners in Spain facing a 100% tax on homes as the country battles a housing crisis
