Drunk driving is one of the most frequently committed crimes in the United States and other places around the world, and while this is nothing new, what you’re about to watch in the following video will no doubt surprise you, and perhaps restore some of your faith in humanity.

What the YouTube video shows is a young man from Ohio named Matthew Cordle who confesses to driving drunk on the opposite side of the road and crashing into another car, which to the death of 61-year-old Navy veteran Vincent Canzani.

We were tempted to call this a hoax, but from the information we collected, it appears to be the real deal. The three and-a-half minute long clip begins with shows 22-year-old Cordle blurred out and with his voice digitally altered explaining the incident.

“My name is Matthew Cordle, and on June 22nd, 2013, I hit and killed Vincent Canzani. This video will act as my confession,” he says in the video.

“I was out with some friends. We were all drinking really heavily – just hopping from bar to bar…just trying to have a good time, and I lost control. You know, sometimes I drink because I have depression that I struggle with every day, and I just drink to get it out of my head for a few hours,” he said.

“On that particular night I made a mistake and got in my truck, completely blacked out and decided to drive home. I ended up going the wrong way down the highway, directly to oncoming traffic and I struck a car…I killed a man”

Later on, his face becomes clear and we can hear his real voice. “When I get charged I’ll plead guilty and take full responsibility for everything I’ve done to Vincent and his family,” Cordle says.

Franklin County prosecutor Ron O’Brien told ABC News on Thursday that while Cordle was a suspect, he had not been charged. He added that he has downloaded a copy of the video as evidence and he’ll ask a grand jury to “indict Cordle for aggravated vehicular homicide with an alcohol specification”, which carries a prison sentence of two to eight years.

At the end of the video, Cordle “begs” viewers to not drink and drive

“I will take that (prison) sentence for just one reason, and that reason is so I can pass this message on to you. I beg you, and I say the word beg specifically, I’m begging you, please don’t drink and drive. Don’t make the same excuses that I did. Don’t say it’s only a few miles or you’ve only had a few beers…I can’t bring Mr. Canzani back, and I can’t erase what I have done, but you can still be saved. Your victims still can be saved. So, please …”

Ed. Note: For those of you questioning the validity of the report stating it’s just a viral video, here are two news reports from the accident that occurred on June 22, 2013:

– Dispatch – Gahanna man identified as victim in I-670 wrong-way crash
– 10TV – 61-Year-Old Man Identified As Victim In Fatal I-670 Wrong-Way Crash


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