Nikki Catsouras Car Crash Photos

This is a story about a photo—an image so horrific we can’t print it in NEWSWEEK. The picture shows the lifeless body of an 18-year-old Orange County girl named Nikki Catsouras, who was killed in a devastating car crash on Halloween day in 2006. The accident was so gruesome the coroner wouldn’t allow her parents, Christos and Lesli Catsouras, to identify their daughter’s body. But because of two California Highway Patrol officers, a digital camera and e-mail users’ easy access to the “Forward” button, there are now nine photos of the accident scene, taken just moments after Nikki’s death, circulating virally on the Web. In one, her nearly decapitated head is drooping out the shattered window of her father’s Porsche. - from Newsweek

Nikki Catsouras was killed in a horrible car crash on Halloween day of 2006. The 18-year-old Orange County, California, resident had been driving her father’s black Porsche 911 Carrera at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour when she lost control of the vehicle and smashed into a concrete tollbooth. She was killed instantly, and, much to her family’s horror, nine grisly Nikki Catsouras car crash photos found their way onto the Internet and went viral.

A few days after the accident, Nikki’s father, Christos, who is a real estate agent, opened an e-mail that he thought to be a property listing. But that was far form the case. Instead, what he saw his daughter Nikki’s blood-covered face accompanied by the following caption: “Whoohoo Daddy! Hey Daddy, I’m still alive.” - from AC

Nikki, 18, had taken her father’s Porsche without permission and, moving at speeds estimated at 100 mph, was killed when she lost control of the sports car and slammed into a concrete toll booth on the 241 toll road in Lake Forest. Soon, nine images of her nearly decapitated body began appearing on Web sites and in e-mails sent anonymously to her family. Some who posted Web site comments or sent e-mails taunted the family; parents Lesli and Christos and three younger sisters. - from OC

Two California Highway Patrol (CHP) dispatchers, 39 year old Thomas O’Donnell and 30 year old Aaron Reich, leaked pictures of the accident scene and Nikki’s horrific death onto the Internet.

The teen was immortalized in a sub-culture of morbidity and dubbed “Porsche Girl.”

Within days of Nikki’s death, the Catsourases were deluged with emails and text messages accompanying the grisly accident scene photos of their once-living 18 year old daughter. Some of the text messages and emails sent by mysterious cyber bulllies said, “What a waste of a Porsche” , “Whoo-hoo! I’m still alive!”, and “that spoiled rich girl deserved it.”

- from here

Published 5/2/09 by

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Comments (157)

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  • im so srry yall had to go threw this... she is so beautifu!!!!!!!!!!!!! an for everyone who sent this family shyt r said bad things bout her F U. R.I.P NIKKI WISH I COULDA KNOWN YOU MAYBE THIS WOULDNT HAVE HAPPENED
    Anonymous 11/18/09 Reply
  • how could ppl be so horrible?????
    Anonymous 11/17/09 Reply
  • However linkd those pictures you should be ashamed of yourselves how would you feel if your loved on died in a horrific accident and their pics were linkd to the press...stop being so selfish for once and start thinking about all the other people...
    Anonymous 9/14/09 Reply
  • This is one of the sadest things ive ever seen an for the people that did this to this family your messed up what if that was your child how would u like this thrown back at you not that losen there child wasnt enough then they had to see how she...
    Anonymous 9/10/09 Reply
  • she's not in that body anymore.
    Actually I thought the photos were kinda beautiful.
    Anonymous 9/10/09 Reply
  • To the Parents brothers and sisters of Nikki, Heard about this sad thing that happend to your daughter. And my heart goes out to you. Hope you get all the people involed with all this and teach them a lesson and to futher stop anyother one...
    Anonymous 9/8/09 Reply
  • teach children that money can buy them out of everything. teach children that there are no consequences to their actions. this is what ya get.
    Anonymous 7/2/09 Reply
  • I can see why the coroner didnt show the body to the fam-i seen the photos. and if u r reading this & u sent those messages u r 1 f'd up person. sorry 4 your loss catsouras family- i lost my mom when i was 7
    Anonymous 6/15/09 Reply
  • how could people say such horrible things about this girl so she took her dads car all well she didn't deserve to die like that. whoever says she does is retarded and has no heart what so ever. she was a really pretty young girl and i dont see how...
    Anonymous 6/11/09 Reply
  • okay this is probably the saddest thing ever and if people think she deserved to die like that you must not have a F*** heart!!if you had kids you would understand how it feels to lose your kids that way.give her poor parents a break!!who wants to...
    Anonymous 6/11/09 Reply
  • Do you think her life would have been different if she grew up in a low or middle class area? Cocaine,Porsches and extreme wealth = early death in this case.
    Anonymous 5/30/09 Reply
  • god bless this family i pray. i wish i could take it all away from you, no one deserves such as this. your in our prayers. and to the ones who did this , sent the photoe god knows who u are also. how could u.
    Anonymous 5/27/09 Reply
  • I am replying to the comment about the P-R-I-N-C-E-S-S. She had a brain tumor relapse. When she was younger she was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and the doctors told her that it may come back in her teen years. It did, and she made some bad...
    Anonymous 5/26/09 Reply
  • Re: lawsuit for parents. I think it is needed. I tried to place my own children's faces into that picture and I am having a difficult time. Add to this the heartless degradation coming from e-mailers.... I would like to ask America's ....I'm...
    Anonymous 5/26/09 Reply
  • This is sick and be the parent of this sweet girl and see this is haunting I can not imagine the deep pain this family must be feeling the people that sent these should be charged and held accountable
    Anonymous 5/25/09 Reply