A teenager who creates prank videos on YouTube has been accused of causing $350K worth of damage by derailing a train in Nebraska for a video that was deemed “insane”. The 17-year-old has been charged with two felonies in connection to the incident.
The youngster proudly displayed his alleged ‘prank’ in a video uploaded on April 21, 2024, claiming it to be the most “mind-blowing”one he had ever filmed for his YouTube channel.
The video shows a train crashing into a car on the train tracks, causing it to derail but not tip over. After three months, the five-minute “practical joke”has gained almost five hundred thousand views and has received criticism from worried internet users.
The teenager was compliant with the investigators who arrived to assess the situation, and was also the initial person to call in the incident, in which no injuries occurred.
On Wednesday, July 24, he faced two felony charges for “criminal mischief resulting in damage exceeding $5,000.”
According to the New York Post, the prankster could potentially receive a $15,000 fine and a maximum sentence of seven years in prison for each charge related to the act of derailing trains for a YouTube video.
The conductor of the train gave a statement to KOLN, explaining that he had observed a “misaligned”switch on the tracks before reaching the crossing. Despite his efforts to make an emergency stop, he was unable to brake in time, resulting in the collision.
After finding that the padlock on the switch had been removed, investigators observed that the teenager had knowledge of the device’s functioning despite initially denying any involvement in tampering with it.
According to an affidavit, the teenager was observed walking on the south side of the tracks before the collision, heading towards the switch.
Currently, there is a motion to transfer the case to county court, which could result in him being tried as an adult.
This is not the first instance of a teenager facing criminal charges for their online ‘pranks.’ On July 19, 2024, a different teenager in Brussels was arrested for throwing a combination of feces and other substances at train passengers, a similar act for which they had previously been arrested earlier in the year.
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