I’m not a big MMA fan, so I don’t know a lot about Mr. Lewis, aka The Mask, but I do recognize him from TV.
Apparently he was racing a Porche somewhere in Orange County at about 1am. The driver of the Porche, Jeffrey David Kirby, has been arrested and is being held for suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter.
I know racing is illegal, so Kirby certainly deserves to be arrested, but pinning manslaughter on him because the other driver lost control seems pretty harsh. Lewis was a grown man and knew the stakes when he started the race.
The flip side, I guess, would be that charging the driver who survived with Manslaughter shows other drivers that, should you race and something terrible happens, you’re going to be in some serious shit. This should certainly act as a deterent.
A woman who was a passenger in Lewis’ car was taken to the hospital and is in serious condition.
Regardless of the legal ramifications, this is a sad day in the MMA world.
Pics from the OCRegister
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I created a memorial in his name. Please visit and leave a message, light a candle, share a story, etc.
http://www.ilasting.com/charleslewis.php
This man is not being charged with vehicular manslaughter because he was racing, he is being charged because he side swiped Charles Ferrari and then attempted to flee the scene, and he was intoxicated. He should be held accountable for his actions.