- A man has been found guilty of murder after crashing into their car after they pranked him.
- Anurag Chandra chased a car of six teenagers after they rang his doorbell and fled.
A 45-year-old man has been found guilty of murder after crashing into a car of teenagers who played a "ding dong ditch" prank on him.
Anurag Chandra, from Southern California, was found guilty of three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder on Friday, CBS News reported.
The three victims, all 16 years old, were Daniel Hawkins of Corona, Drake Ruiz of Corona, and Jacob Ivascu of Riverside.
They were in a car alongside three other teenagers who were rammed repeatedly by Chandra on Jan. 19, 2020.
Chandra's purposeful collision caused the teens' Toyota Prius to slam into a tree.
"The murder of these young men was a horrendous and senseless tragedy for our community. I thank the jury for their verdict. This is an important step toward justice," county District Attorney Mike Hestrin said in a statement, per CBS.
According to local news outlet The Press-Enterprise, Chandra told the jury that he was pranked by one of the teenagers when they rang his doorbell, exposed their buttocks, and then fled in a car.
The friends had dared one boy to either jump into a pool at night or play "ding dong ditch," per CBS News.
Chandra testified that he then got in his vehicle to chase down the teens before crashing into them. At one point, Chandra hit speeds of 99 mph in a 40-mph zone, said The Press-Enterprise
He said he then fled the scene as he didn't believe anyone was hurt, nor did he think the collision was his fault.
He added that he drank 12 bottles of Corona Premiere beer before the crash.
Police found Chandra's number plate at the scene of the crash and went to his home to ask him questions hours after the incident, but no one answered.
Chandra told the court that he was asleep due to the "overwhelming stress" of the evening, per The Press-Enterprise.