A crazy stunt styled after MTV's Jackass reality TV series cost a young man his life Sunday. The 20-year-old German, identified in a local newspaper only as Tobias, was part of a group of six who called themselves the “Bavarian Dumbasses.” They modeled their stunts on those performed by the Jackass crew and posted video of them on YouTube. In the lethal stunt, Tobias was taped to a playground merry-go-round while his friends tied a rope from one end to a car, then stepped on the gas to make the carousel spin as fast as possible. The tape ripped, and Tobias hurtled from the merry-go-round and plunged head-first into the ground, reports ABC News.
“I heard this terrible scream and shouts for help,” said a woman who lives nearby. “When I arrived my husband was already there and he was trying to revive the victim but it was useless. He was covered in blood." Police are weighing manslaughter charges against the friends, reports the Munchner Merkur German newspaper. Tobias' dad says crazy stunt videos should be banned on the Internet. (More Jackass stories.)