"Mercedes Says THEIR CARS JUST DON'T BLOW UP!": The Michael Hastings Car Crash

[caseymoz]

105. No, the disabled airbag was the evidence

And the unbuckled seat belt, and the fact that the car's computer likely reported when those were done. It probably also recorded that the car accelerated and the brakes were not used, though the lack of skid marks and speed of the vehicle would have probably said that. His only excuse was "leg cramp." And perhaps there was a witness, but with today's cars, they can convict him without one.

Again, the accident is not evidence of murder.

Here's the way it goes: you start out with a dead body, and you know by its condition and the auto's condition that the person died in the crash. You know who was driving her and you know he was unharmed. There are plenty of cars that crash into trees, so that fact alone isn't evidence of murder. Then you find out how the driver came to wreck the car, and here's what comes out:

1) His feet and toes aren't crushed. (Presumably would have been if he wasn't in the crash position.) If he was in the crash position, he wasn't trying to stop the car.

2) The airbag was deactivated for some reason. The car's computer likely recorded when this happened. It was either the car's owner or a malicious auto mechanic who did it.

3) Her seat belt was unbuckled, and the car's computer likely would have recorded when that happened. Besides her, there was only one person who could have done that. Wouldn't the car's warning system remind her to do that?

4) They knew the car accelerated prior to reaching it's target. Either they had an eyewitness or they likely could have taken it from the car's computer.

Those are all the evidence of murder. For 1 and 4, the only motive could be murder, and there's only one person who could have done it. The airbag deactivated shows premeditation for murder but is not evidence of murder itself. Getting into the crash position was the direct and most immediate evidence murder at the scene.