Fox News decided to carry the feed of a lengthy car chase involving a Dodger Caliber in Phoenix, Arizona on Friday afternoon. Well, the network kept the cameras rolling even after the driver of the Caliber exited the vehicle and began to flee on foot. While running, the driver shot himself in the head and it was all aired on live television.
The feed was cut almost immediately after the apparent suicide and the network went to commercial. The host at the time, Shepard Smith, apologized immediately for the video feed.
“We really messed up,” Smith said. Smith also noted that the video was on a delay of five seconds but it should not have hit the airwaves. “We’re all very sorry. That didn’t belong on television.”
The driver has been identified as 33-year-old Jodon F. Romero. It was reported that he stole the Caliber and shot at police officers prior to the chase occurring. Michael Clemente, the executive VP of Fox News, said the following in a statement about the incident:
We took every precaution to avoid any such live incident by putting the helicopter pictures on a five second delay. Unfortunately, this mistake was the result of a severe human error and we apologize for what viewers ultimately saw on the screen.
Sgt. Tommy Thompson, a spokesperson for the Phoenix police, said that the driver was declared dead at the scene.
