| Revision as of 23:44, 30 April 2009 editProeyeguy (talk | contribs)5 edits →References← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:44, 30 April 2009 edit undoProeyeguy (talk | contribs)5 edits →Legal actionNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| '''Nicole "Nikki" Catsouras''' (], ]<ref> Orange County Register.</ref> - ], ]) was an ] woman who died at the age of 18 as a result of a ] after losing control of her father's ] at high speed and colliding with a ] in ]. An autopsy revealed cocaine had recently ingested by Nicole. The death was notable for a controversy surrounding the leakage of ] of Catsouras' badly damaged body on to the ], which caused her family to take ] due to ] about the incident. | '''Nicole "Nikki" Catsouras''' (], ]<ref> Orange County Register.</ref> - ], ]) was an ] woman who died at the age of 18 as a result of a ] after losing control of her father's ] at high speed and colliding with a ] in ]. An autopsy revealed cocaine had recently ingested by Nicole. The death was notable for a controversy surrounding the leakage of ] of Catsouras' badly damaged body on to the ], which caused her family to take ] due to ] about the incident. | ||
| ==Legal action== | |||
| A judge in ] ruled that it would be appropriate to move forward with the family's legal case against the California Highway Patrol for leaking the photographs.<ref name=beautiful/> The family hired ] to handle their lawsuit. This led to the California Highway Patrol issuing a formal apology and taking action to prevent similar occurrences in the future, after discovering that departmental policy had been violated by the two officers responsible for the leakage of the photographs.<ref name=beautiful/> O'Donnell was suspended for 25 days without pay, and Reich quit soon after, "for unrelated reasons," according to his lawyer.<ref name= "newsweek" /> As of March 21, 2008, the final ruling in the legal case was issued. Judge Steven L. Perk dismissed the case against the Department of the California Highway Patrol after both Reich and O'Donnell were removed as defendants. Judge Perk ruled that the two were not under any responsibility for protecting the privacy of the Catsouras family, effectively ending the basis for the case. The family's legal team is appealing the ruling.<ref name=postponed>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Judge dismisses suit over CHP photo leak |url=http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/local/ladera/schoolsandeducation/article_2003372.php |quote= |work=] |date= |accessdate=2008-07-17 }}</ref> | |||
| ==External links== | ==External links== | ||
Revision as of 23:44, 30 April 2009
Nicole "Nikki" Catsouras (March 4, 1988 - October 31, 2006) was an American woman who died at the age of 18 as a result of a car crash after losing control of her father's Porsche Carrera at high speed and colliding with a toll booth in Orange County, California. An autopsy revealed cocaine had recently ingested by Nicole. The death was notable for a controversy surrounding the leakage of photographs of Catsouras' badly damaged body on to the Internet, which caused her family to take legal action due to distress about the incident.
External links
- Obituary. Orange County Register.