Channel 6 Investigative Reporter On Michael Hastings. Police and Fire told NOT to comment

Throwing something else into the mix. What if the person in the car was not Hastings and he has gone underground or on a witness-protection program kind of thing? Bodies have been switched before in history I am sure.
The car is registered to Hastings? Was the body burned beyond recognition? It would be easy to get DNA labs to test actual samples of hair for example which may not be from the body in the car. Of course this is all speculation, but needs to be in the overall mix. Also speculation, what reaction by the parents or close friends, although if it was me going underground, I would not tell anyone in those circumstances, even parents.

Unlikely, I admit, but these days, they probably have drones or high altitude craft armed with lasers which could have targeted the vehicle. Getting a bomb into the car would have involved someone fiddling about underneath or gaining access to it which may have been seen by someone. A bomb placed under the driverside wheel arch would not be too difficult though.

reply to post by Samuelis


She clearly said that the LAPD has ruled foul play out of it.

reply to post by WanDash


Excellent ground work!

I finally found my way to North Highland Ave and Clinton Street in Street view. I assumed it was a hydrant, but I don't see one either. The other report I found said it happened near North Highland Ave and Melrose Ave. I looked there as well and no hydrants. I am not familiar with L.A. and what sort of water valves/mains/ect. may be in the median strip.

The Mercedes C205 has a glass sun roof so no surprise it is gone. It does look a little caved in that shot, so it is possible and very likely the vehicle's rear end left the ground in an extreme manner. The final resting position indicates it had to rotate, spin, wrap, ect, at least 90 degrees from direction of travel.

If I recall correctly, initial reports said there were no skid marks. Damage to the grass in the median would of most likely been minimal

I am still thinking that the engine left the vehicle upon impact with the tree. IMHO if the vehicle had rolled before hand, it most likely would not have had an extreme direct frontal impact with the tree. It probably would have wrapped around the tree instead.

A note about the extreme heat. One poster mentioned the rubber tires burning. Two things I remember from my Volunteer Firefighting days....

Approach a car fire from the side or diagonal....never direct on. Front and rear bumpers are loaded with shocks and will literally blow off from the heat and take you out at the knees.

And, most important....Never use water on vehicles with magnesium alloy rims. Magnesium and water combine to burn at extremely high temps. Notice when the citizen was spraying the car with the hose?....that large pop that made him jump back....Magnesium + water = WOW

Originally posted by ShadellacZumbrum
reply to post by Samuelis

 

She clearly said that the LAPD has ruled foul play out of it.

The LAPD was ruling "foul play out of it" the day this made this news.
Nothing has changed...except now...they're saying they can't comment because of an ongoing investigation.
What would they be investigating...if no foul play was involved/suspected?
Bank records?
Newly acquired insurance policies?
Odd mix of psychedelic drugs and/or last minute cell-phone calls?
If those are the answers to "what would they be investigating"...then, they will have no problem telling us, when they're done.
Hypocrisy is hypocrisy any way it's spelled.
Almost three weeks have passed...and what started as "no foul play" has grown in complexion to - "no foul play + no comment + ongoing investigation".

I wonder if the message to Fire Department and Police Department to not comment came early in the morning about a week later? The police station only a couple miles down the road from the accident on the same road.

Wilshire Police ambush suspect.


And they locked down the city for a while to search and never found anybody.
www.nbclosangeles.com...

reply to post by WanDash

While I agree that there are a number of enigmatic pieces of the puzzle that must fall into place for any of the "somebody did this to him" theories to work...an honest (& intelligent) mind would have to admit the same about the "logical story" being questioned.
If you disagree with that statement...would you mind stepping us through what you believe the "logical story" to be?
I would appreciate that.
I'm sure others would, as well.

You are speaking as if there even IS a full 'official story' or report of the accident at this point, which kinda IS the whole point. There isn't one because it is being investigated. Obviously, California is curious on this one too and they do major scene investigations on fatal wrecks anyway because it's the Sue Me state in general terms. Everyone is always suing someone over something and every wreck with serious injury let alone death is almost certain to end up in a court for a lawsuit there. (Which is a reason all it's own to shut down the leaking during an investigation if something looks odd).

Now who knows what DID actually happen here? Maybe there is something downright off about this whole thing and it comes down to the car itself. Maybe THIS one had that 1:Million mechanical failure with involved the engine seemingly heading somewhere all it's own while the car crashed and burned. It could end up being nothing more nefarious that CYA by a major corporation over a car built on a Friday afternoon at the plant. Oops in capital letters and neon.

Or...he may have dropped something, took his eyes off the road for just a moment and in a high performance sports type car? Steering is likely responsive at speed. A nudge with the knee without thinking while driving along a curb, for instance? Ouch.... It looks REAL ugly when it happens on the interstate and I've personally seen more of those over a trucking career than I care to think about. Just inattention for a moment and a fleeting instance of carelessness.

However...in the absence of anything remotely tangible to suggest foul play? I'll wait to see what the official story actually is before saying it's wrong or a cover up. I'd expect it'll be along right after that investigation they're in the middle on now.

Originally posted by miner49r
reply to post by WanDash

 

...If I recall correctly, initial reports said there were no skid marks. Damage to the grass in the median would of most likely been minimal
...I am still thinking that the engine left the vehicle upon impact with the tree. IMHO if the vehicle had rolled before hand, it most likely would not have had an extreme direct frontal impact with the tree. It probably would have wrapped around the tree instead.
...Approach a car fire from the side or diagonal....never direct on. Front and rear bumpers are loaded with shocks and will literally blow off from the heat and take you out at the knees.
...And, most important....Never use water on vehicles with magnesium alloy rims. Magnesium and water combine to burn at extremely high temps. Notice when the citizen was spraying the car with the hose?....that large pop that made him jump back....Magnesium + water = WOW

I think the engine left the vehicle upon impact, as well... My one concern, however, is - if any kind of "roll" or "other impact" preceded the collision with the tree...might the airbags have deployed and exhausted their usefulness...before they were actually needed? If there was no roll or prior impact...how quickly did a fire engulf the vehicle? It is possible (maybe even likely) that the airbags would have kept him alive through the collision...so...why does it appear that he was still strapped-in...sitting upright in his seat after the fire has been extinguished?

Just for kickers...an excellent researcher on these topics is JBA2848...and, in another thread, he posted a crash-test video for this Mercedes impacting an immovable object at probably very-nearly the same place as Hastings' car hit the tree... www.abovetopsecret.com...
That impact was supposedly at 50 mph. If you study closely, you'll see that the rear end does slightly leave the ground. I'm sure you'll notice many other things as well...but - just to give you some more insight into some that has been uncovered already.

reply to post by WanDash


The video shown in this thread was recorded sometime more recently. I had construed her statement to be a more recent piece of information.

At this point the investigation could be continuing for a number of reasons. Maybe they are waiting for all of the information to become complete so it could all be presented at the same time. I know that is typically not the case, but it is possible that they have a good reason for that.

Originally posted by JBA2848
I wonder if the message to Fire Department and Police Department to not comment came early in the morning about a week later? The police station only a couple miles down the road from the accident on the same road.
...Wilshire Police ambush suspect.

And they locked down the city for a while to search and never found anybody.
...

If they play their cards right...they'll become famous there.
Are they the ones "investigating" the Hastings' accident?

Originally posted by ShadellacZumbrum
...The video shown in this thread was recorded sometime more recently. I had construed her statement to be a more recent piece of information.
...At this point the investigation could be continuing for a number of reasons. Maybe they are waiting for all of the information to become complete so it could all be presented at the same time. I know that is typically not the case, but it is possible that they have a good reason for that.

Honestly - to me - it seemed that she was a "newbie" on the conspiracy-theory trail...but...trying to distance herself from the lot.
We see what she did all the time on these boards - get a piece of one fact wrong...and keep going with it "wrong", and develop all kinds of sub-plots and side-trails...and eventually - you just want to change your username and avatar (when it comes to light, how it was you (ME) that had something out of place all along).
I'm sure it was an honest mistake... Kinda like Leon Lett...got the ball...just...running for the wrong end zone.
Hey - wait! I was pulling for the Cowboys...

Maybe they want the ADT guy who was on scene to do the job. I guess California has a deal with ADT if enough people in a area has ADT services a armed security patrol is then placed in the area and California will then pull all the regular police road patrols from the area. Not sure how many other companies they do this with. And it is a case of privatizing the police departments. And what happens when you don't have ADT in the ADT patrol area? Is it like the fire department that watched a mans house burn down because he did not pay them a fee in advance?

ADT Bel-Air Patrol are hiring armed patrol officers for $11 an hour.
www.security-guard-training.net...

Kudos to JBA2848 for his crash test vid....I do believe that is an accurate representation of how/what happened...but probably at a much higher speed.

Now that the "engine was behind the car" fallacy has been pretty well debunked, there is on last question. It may be the question that is at the center of the "Ongoing Investigation".

From the street view on G-earth.... that is a 35 mph zone. Why the extreme rate of speed?

Was he running from someone or something? ... Perhaps running to someone or something?

Either way, it would seem on the surface that He was a professional. I don't see this individual as the type being out on a drunken high speed joy ride through a residential area.

Therein may lay the reason as to the how and why. If there are any juicy details... we may never know.

reply to post by miner49r


The police station was a couple miles straight ahead. Strange place to be speeding heading directly to a police station? If he was traveling 100 miles an hour like they say he was about a minute from the police station or less.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
...You are speaking as if there even IS a full 'official story' or report of the accident at this point, which kinda IS the whole point. There isn't one because it is being investigated...

Well - fortunately (for me), I did not mention "official story" in my questions to you. I'm just looking for someone to fill-in the blanks on "how" this transpired apart from "external assistance", incorporating and accounting for each and all of the known facts. I am already aware of the holes (that must be filled) for any of the conspiracy theories to work.

...Now who knows what DID actually happen here? Maybe there is something downright off about this whole thing and it comes down to the car itself. Maybe THIS one had that 1:Million mechanical failure with involved the engine seemingly heading somewhere all it's own while the car crashed and burned. It could end up being nothing more nefarious that CYA by a major corporation over a car built on a Friday afternoon at the plant. Oops in capital letters and neon...

In which case - we're having to discount (with a capital DISCOUNT) the information we have on the email sent the previous afternoon (continuation of the same day), and the call/tweet to the Wikileaks lawyer only three+ hours before... Or - give a huge offering to the gods of Coincidence... 'Cause only they could have engineered such a set of circumstances.

...Or...he may have dropped something, took his eyes off the road for just a moment and in a high performance sports type car? Steering is likely responsive at speed. A nudge with the knee without thinking while driving along a curb, for instance? ...

As I'm sure you're aware - this is a stretch. It might not be a stretch if happening for a couple of seconds...and/or even a couple of short blocks...but to extend this to recognizing that he was probably travelling between 60 & 70 mph at Santa Monica Blvd., and had increased to (presumably) 100+ mph by Melrose Place...suggests that either something else had his attention (like induced coma ), something/someone else had control of the car, or, he was intent on suicide.

... Ouch.... It looks REAL ugly when it happens on the interstate and I've personally seen more of those over a trucking career than I care to think about. Just inattention for a moment and a fleeting instance of carelessness.

I drove over-the-road for a while, as well. Didn't mind the driving - hated the multiple sets of rules. Saw a lot of ugly stuff...and a lot of beauty. California is one of the most mixed-up places on earth (I think)... So much to see - So much beauty...and So much...ugly. (Texas is like that, too.)

...However...in the absence of anything remotely tangible to suggest foul play? I'll wait to see what the official story actually is before saying it's wrong or a cover up. I'd expect it'll be along right after that investigation they're in the middle on now.

IMO - the only way the theories that suggest this was not foul play, might be explained, are as follows:
(Welcome constructive criticism to these suggestions)
His career hit a high with General Mc-whats'isname... He's followed one dead-end trail after another, since...even taking on the role of heading-up the new Los Angeles office for the publication he writes for...but, each new lead turns into nothing. He's mortgaged and credited up the knozzle. ...about to lose face big time.
Has an insurance policy that will take care of his debts...give his wife (and child?) enough to get rolling again...and that doubles in case of accidental death.
Further insures his wife/family, by sending emails that he's onto the BIGGEST story of his life (which must be something, if the last BIG story turned the war in Afghanistan & the White House on their ears), and must "submerge" for a while... One last insurance policy - a tweet/call to the Wikileaks lawyer...and...booze it up...drug it up...until he's virtually numb...and speed south on North Highlands Avenue...increasing speed constantly as he goes...through 7 to 10 intersections...each of which might cause the death of others as well... And, when all of the intersections that would probably do the trick are past...and he's lost control from the two crosswalks (and rise) at Melrose Place...just take it into a tree.

That accounts for the email, the Wikileaks lawyer...and his recklessness for quite a stretch of high-risk road.
It does not account for the possibility that the airbags will provide ample buffer... And...there's no way (unless he rigged it, himself) that he could count on an explosion that would engulf the car and himself in such an out-of-control blaze.
But - that's the nearest I can get with "nobody did it to him - he did it to himself".

reply to post by Daedalus

perhaps you would like to read the rest of, and then weigh in further on this thread

Why would I? You two have absolutely destroyed that thread. The OP claims to care about "facts" but riddled the entire thread with subjective opinions.

It might be a fact, that the person in question had substance problems years back, but that means nothing related to this case. Unless a tox report comes back saying he was seeing purple elephants at the time of the crash. (and even that, doesn't entirely explain everything) In fact, that poster and how he brings it up has nothing to do with fact, it's all subjective opinion.

The substance use is a fact. If you think it made him crash a car, that's opinion. And not necessarily backed by fact, 2 + 2 doesn't equal 5.

He got a DUI in the past? Fine. Did it cause an accident? Lets say yes.
He got an accident and a DUI? Okay.
Is he still consuming ______ , was he before he was driving? Dont know?

Doesn't mean anything

-

You have to be able to answer all those questions before making an opinion based on fact. The rest is just a subjective attempt at drawing your own feelings for other people.

In other words, let's take another example,

you could have someone who got 20 DUIs before, no accidents? No, none. That would show they are more inclined not to get in accidents when they drink and drive compared to someone who got in 5 but never had a DUI.. etc, etc.





You're only making it worse because you keep entertaining the OP in that thread. I lost interest ages ago when you all start arguing the same stupid points over and over.


OP Titled "Let's discuss the facts" > All facts thrown out window. -facepalm-

Originally posted by JBA2848
reply to post by miner49r

 

The police station was a couple miles straight ahead. Strange place to be speeding heading directly to a police station? If he was traveling 100 miles an hour like they say he was about a minute from the police station or less.

Strange place indeed.

I suspicion that this will become the subject of "an going investigation" for an indefinite period. I hate to play the skeptic but I am a realist as well.

As I said, if there are any juicy details I sincerely doubt they will be released to the public. I would be blown over backwards if they were...(we know something was up)

I will set a news alert for Michael Hastings and wait and see what if anything turns up. My crystal ball says the police report will say elevated BAC....high rate of speed....failure to control vehicle, blah blah blah....end of story.

In short.....cover it up and wait for the public to forget

Originally posted by miner49r
Kudos to JBA2848 for his crash test vid....I do believe that is an accurate representation of how/what happened...but probably at a much higher speed.

Now that the "engine was behind the car" fallacy has been pretty well debunked, there is on last question. It may be the question that is at the center of the "Ongoing Investigation".

From the street view on G-earth.... that is a 35 mph zone. Why the extreme rate of speed?

Was he running from someone or something? ... Perhaps running to someone or something?

Either way, it would seem on the surface that He was a professional. I don't see this individual as the type being out on a drunken high speed joy ride through a residential area.

Therein may lay the reason as to the how and why. If there are any juicy details... we may never know.

Yes - Kudos to JBA2848... He comes up with some outstanding info...like - how many airbags this model vehicle is equipped with, and where and how they deploy...etc...
To your question regarding "why" he was travelling at such a rate of speed in this vicinity - I think "that" is the ultimate question.
Was he speeding so recklessly of his own impetus?
Had someone-else or something-else usurped control of his vehicle (I don't know that this scenario would need to have included "control of steering")?
I don't think that "someone chasing/following" him would provide an adequate answer...though...there is the possibility that he could have been driving so recklessly...if he'd received some threat against his family (wife/child?)...and was desperately trying to get to them. (I really don't think this one works, either... Going through so many intersections at such a devilish rate of speed seems to argue against it...)
What I do see, though is --- This was out of character (as you suggested). We/I don't know his life history. Don't know anymore than we've been told...but...we WERE told that his friends and acquaintances said he "drove like a Grandma" (which is another thread that discusses some of this topic on ATS).

reply to post by WanDash



I am not at all familiar with LA ....or the area this occurred. But, ... where is the nearest medical facility?....anyone?

I do have my own suspicion....but don't want to inject my speculative theory into the thread.

Originally posted by miner49r
...I am not at all familiar with LA ....or the area this occurred. But, ... where is the nearest medical facility?....anyone?

I do have my own suspicion....but don't want to inject my speculative theory into the thread.

I don't have an answer for that, right now.
Must leave-off, here for the night. Hope to get back to discussing, tomorrow (if it's still going).
Would like to hear your thoughts (suspicions)... If not in this thread...let's find one (or start one)!
Thanks for the discussion.

ETA: This occurred right outside "Hollywood", apparently in the Wilshire district. I am unfamiliar with LA either (just what I've found on Google Maps).

reply to post by WanDash


Same here... getting late. I will check back on the thread in the morning.

I am not much of a thread starter....look for a PM and feel free.