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Man charged with three criminal counts in death of Tapout’s co-founder
By Zach Arnold | March 14, 2009
The LA Times reports that 51-year old Jeffrey Kirby has been charged by local authorities on three criminal counts in relation to the death of Charles “Mask” Lewis (Tapout co-founder): Felony vehicular manslaughter, drunk driving, and fleeing from he scene of the crash. The Times article further details the conditions for Kirby’s bail (set at $500,000 USD) and concerns by the defense attorney that there will be retributions by MMA fans against his client. Mugshots of the defendant are widely available online already. Here is a CBS 2 Los Angeles report on Friday’s court hearing.
According to the Times:
Kirby was speeding in his 1977 Porsche early Wednesday morning on Jamboree Road in Newport Beach when he lost control and crashed into Lewis’ 2004 Ferrari, which caused the sports car to veer into the light pole, authorities said.
The Orange County Register reports that the woman in Mask’s car who was injured in the accident was dating him and had worked for Tapout. The Register also reports this item regarding whether or not street racing took place:
Prosecutors could also later add a street-racing enhancement to the charges if the investigation reveals that the two drivers were dueling as they sped northbound on Jamboree Road near Bison Avenue.
Baez said that skid marks at the scene and other evidence indicate that both drivers were traveling at high speeds when the initial contact took place.
“It appears that Mr. Kirby lost control of his Porsche and collided into the Ferrari, causing Mr. Lewis to also lose control and crash into the pole,” Baez said. “If the first contact hadn’t happened, the Ferrari would not have lost control.”
Josh Gross of Sports Illustrated has an article detailing Mask’s involvement in the MMA scene (along with comments from various fighters).
Topics: Media, MMA, Zach Arnold | 2 Comments » | Permalink | Trackback |
eugh. Street racing.
It’s hard to feel a lot of sympathy for a person who was engaged in an illegal activity that not only endangered his own life, but also the lives of everyone else on that road.