of story of graphic nikki catsouras crash photos again in spotlight

Story of graphic crash photos again in spotlight: The tragic story of car-crash victim Nikki Catsouras went national again this week as her family awaits a legal ruling on a case that touches on privacy, harassment and image control in cyberspace.

As first reported in The Orange County Register, the Catsouras family sued the California Highway Patrol after images of Nikki's body began circulating on the Internet soon after a horrific car crash on Halloween Day in 2006. 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. The CHP later apologized for the leak, blaming it on two employees. Accident-scene photos are routinely used for investigative purposes but legally are not supposed to be disseminated publicly.

Link to the leaked photos here (NSFW).