:( :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 'Journalist Michael Hastings Dies In Car Crash' - RawStory

[WillyT]

Journalist Michael Hastings dies in car crash
By Eric W. Dolan - RawStory
Tuesday, June 18, 2013 19:03 EDT



<snip>

The journalist and author Michael Hastings died at the age of 33 on Tuesday morning. According to his employer BuzzFeed, Hastings was killed in a car crash in Los Angeles..

“We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone,” Ben Smith, BuzzFeed Editor-in-Chief, said in a statement. “Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians. He wrote stories that would otherwise have gone unwritten, and without him there are great stories that will go untold. Michael was also a wonderful, generous colleague and a joy to work with. Our thoughts are with Elise and and the rest of his family and we are going to miss him.”

Hastings gained national attention in 2010 after exposing inflammatory comments made by Gen. Stanley McChrystal about President Barack Obama and the civilian leadership of the military.

<snip>

Link: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/06/18/journalist-michael-hastings-dies-in-car-crash/

[MADem]

1. I feel badly reccing such a sad thread, but I want it to get more visibility. NT

[Hassin Bin Sober]

7. I'll throw one in with you, MADem.

[leveymg]

2. So young. So much more to do.

Michael will be missed.

[MsPithy]

23. So true.

So, so much more to do.

[reformist2]

71. The magnitude of this loss is really starting to sink in.

[JI7]

3. wow, that sucks

[BeyondGeography]

4. A terrible and tragic loss

[deurbano]

5. Very sad news.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michael-hastings-rolling-stone-contributor-dead-at-33-20130618

[malaise]

6. Are we sure it was an accident?

[blkmusclmachine]

16. No.

[b.durruti]

29. They murder with impunity. -nt-

[pam4water]

52. +1

[glinda]

56. yup

[Eddie Haskell]

59. What's he been working on?

[malaise]

82. He's the man who brought down Stanley Allen McChrystal

for his comments on the President

[Eddie Haskell]

92. Yes, but what is he working on now?

[FourScore]

131. I read somewhere that he was investigating the CIA.

I'll look for the link.

[napoleon_in_rags]

132. I was looking in to that.

All I saw last night was an explosive critique of the administration for what he called "militarism", a book I think was non-controversial on the 2012 election. What interested me more were allegations of the military using psychological operations on congress from 2011. The guy built his career on issues of military vs. civilian power, which is one of the underlying currents of the Snowden affair. If there was anything big he was researching, it would probably be in that area, though I don't know of anything specific. What I do know is we're in the era of bad timing. Bad timing for Snowden's leak with Obama meeting with China, bad timing for this, with people refocused on the journalists killed by military Bradley Manning leaked about, spying on journalists, people saying Greenwald should be arrested, and now this. Bad timing for an accident.

[Eddie Haskell]

147. Bad timing always seems to kill the wrong people.

[napoleon_in_rags]

148. Yep. Gandolfini?

Timing applies again, because allegedly his death was reported as a hoax earlier in the week:

http://inagist.com/all/347506936255750146/

(Though I am having a hard time confirming that.) But yeah, by most accounts the guy was just a really focused actor, really kind person.

[sabrina 1]

73. No! So very sad for his family. I wonder if he had children?

RIP to a great journalist.

[malaise]

86. Watch this - Rachel broke down at the end

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/26315908/#52247474

[sabrina 1]

111. Thank you, I did not know all that about him. Didn't know about the books he wrote. I will

read them now. Rachel saying to him, that if he was going to write the kind of reporting he did, 'you know they are going to throw everything at you' so you 'have to cross every t, dot every i'.



He will be missed. His care blew into pieces according to the eye witness. His body 'burned beyond recognition'.

[siligut]

85. My first thought is that it wasn't an accident

Early Tuesday morning, one 'witness', at least that is what the article indicates. Car suddenly jackknifed, hit a tree and burst into flames. Seriously, other than in movies and TV, I have never seen a vehicle burst into flames.

[Vincardog]

98. Cars don't "jackknife" that is something Semi-trucks and trailer do. I reply to article not your pos

[siligut]

99. Did you call my post a POS?

I thought the same thing; how does a car jackknife? From the article linked in the OP:

A person who witnessed the crash early Tuesday morning said he saw Hastings speeding down the road in his car when it suddenly jackknifed, slammed into a tree, and burst into flames.

[reformist2]

104. Yeah, that's an incorrect use of the term. The reporter should have written "veered off the road."

Tractor-trailers "jackknife" when the cab turns sharply relative to the trailer and gets locked in place that way.

[patrice]

101. +1 & It wouldn't be the first time. nt

[one_voice]

8. Tragic.

So young, so much left to do. Very sad.

[Cooley Hurd]

9. Scoped out multiple sources, this is as close as I could get to details of the accident

...possibly:

http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/story?section=news/local/los_angeles&id=9143088

HOLLYWOOD, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- A fiery accident in Los Angeles near the Melrose district left one person dead early Tuesday morning.


The accident happened near the intersection of Highland and Melrose avenues at about 4:15 a.m. The vehicle slammed into a tree and caught fire.

Neighbors could be seen with hoses trying to put the flames out even before fire crews arrived on scene.

The driver, identified only as a male, was declared dead at the scene. His name has not been released pending notification of next of kin. </snip>

[jimlup]

12. So sorry to hear this...

The time seems to be typical of fatal accidents. The fire looks very substantial. Being a cynic I can't help but ask the question. If he was seen drinking or something that would eliminate tin-foil hat theories but if they "found alcohol in his blood" it would not.

[Cooley Hurd]

20. I hope it's thoroughly investigated.

He's pissed off a lot of powerful people in the past.

Cross gently, Michael.

[Divernan]

65. Including whether his car was tampered with.

A biting comment from the Yahoo coverage: Weather in Los Angeles: Cloudy with a chance of Drones.

[questionseverything]

67. sigh

http://ktla.com/2013/06/18/driver-killed-in-fiery-car-crash-in-hollywood/#ixzz2WcDXWNjW

witness hears what sounds like a bomb and the motor flies 50 yards from the wreck

[proverbialwisdom]

74. Tragic.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-coroner-no-identification-michael-hastings-20130618,0,5825533.story

...The collision was so violent that the car's engine was strewn onto a yard about 100 feet from the crash site, a photo taken by The Time showed.

More: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-michael-hastings-dies-car-crash-20130618,0,7611310.story

[JI7]

19. i use to drive that way to work a few years ago , not an area i would drive very fast in

and at least the streets along melrose can be very close together. but i don't know how it would look at 4 am and if it was empty enough that one would drive much faster than usual.

i have to wonder if he was drinking.

[HubertHeaver]

40. or being followed..............

[glinda]

58. That was my thought. Run off the road.

[Hissyspit]

24. LATimes says this is the scene:

Not sure though. They could have the wrong one.

http://touch.latimes.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-76358486



Michael Hastings car crash

Los Angeles police investigate a burned vehicle in the 600 block of North Highland Avenue, where a man was pronounced dead early Tuesday, police said.

[WillyT]

36. Man... I Didn't Know He Lost His Fiance In Iraq In 2007...

Book Review: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/books/review/Packer-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

[Hissyspit]

38. She worked for Air America.

Greg Mitchell: "well, relatively few know about his first book, about his courtship and life with a woman (who worked for Air America), who both ended up in Iraq, where she lost her life. The book was, I Lost My Love in Baghdad, and it was pretty much ignored until his later fame. So here's a reminder."

http://gregmitchellwriter.blogspot.com/2013/06/michael-hastings-rip.html

[LeftInTX]

37. How awful and sad

[malaise]

103. Front of the car hits a tree and it bursts into flames

Where is the gas tank on this model?

[Ganja Ninja]

83. Holy Crap!

It's hard to tell what he was driving. I'm guessing a Porsche. It looks like it was hit by a drone. He had to have been doing 80 to 100 mph to bend it up like that.

[Cooley Hurd]

105. Looking at this pic:

...it's a late-model Toyota Celica:

[FarCenter]

112. Mercedes? Suicide by auto?

Hastings’ Mercedes-Benz slammed into a tree and caught fire.

...

“He was incredibly tense and very worried and was concerned that the government was looking in on his material,” he said.

“I don’t know what his state of mind was at 4:30 in the morning, but I do know what his state of mind was in general, and it was a nervous wreck.”

Read more: http://ktla.com/2013/06/19/driver-killed-in-fiery-car-crash-in-hollywood

[TeeYiYi]

114. Looks like a late model Mercedes to me. ..nt

TYY

[octoberlib]

125. Some news outlets have reported bystanders said it looked like a Mercedes c250.

I haven't seen any official confirmation yet though.

[mwdem]

110. It was a late model Mercedes

..according to KTLA morning news.

[KoKo]

139. If it's a bad enough accident don't most cars catch on fire?

Is Mercedes "extra protected" in crash? (would hope so for the money)...but, if you are going High Speed and Crash into Tree....wouldn't the fuel tank explode if loaded with gas?

We don't know any of this...so it's just speculation that he was in Safe Car...and some on this thread say "cars don't catch on fire in crash like this"....yet cars DO Catch on Fire and burn their owners lots of times. So ...which is it?

I guess we shall wait and see what comes out of the Investigation. Still...given his "high profile" questioning the PTB...there is a reason that many of us speculate about the circumstances and hope for a STRONG Investigation. I think there are many questions that have to be asked. So..hopefully...

[mwdem]

142. I totally agree.

I hope we hear more about this. I want to know what he was working on now

[KoKo]

144. That would be important...if we can rely...

on is it "LAPD" in that jurisdiction of where the accident happened to do that kind of investigation? I've not heard good things about LAPD...but, who knows... We shall see.

[Luminous Animal]

10. Simply awful news.

[RebelOne]

11. The Young Turks just covered it. n/t

[cascadiance]

102. I think Cenk was closer to tears on his Current television show announcement yesterday...

... than I'd seen him before, and probably moreso than Rachel when she mentioned him. Hastings was on Cenk's show a a lot.

Here's Cenk talking to Sam Seder later on his own TYT show on Hastings. Note how one of the clips shows Cenk talking to both Hastings and Glen Greenwald... Has you wondering...

[onehandle]

13. Sucko. nt

[octoberlib]

14. Here's a link to The Runaway General

His article on McChrystal for Rolling Stone. Great read! http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-runaway-general-20100622

[1StrongBlackMan]

15. Hastings/Snowden, Greenwald connection ...

reported on alexjones/glen beck in 3 ... 2 ... 1 ...

[blkmusclmachine]

17. What did he know?

[cali]

18. oh no.

RS obit and great pic of Michael at link.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michael-hastings-rolling-stone-contributor-dead-at-33-20130618

[reformist2]

21. Anyone know what kind of a car crash?

[cherokeeprogressive]

28. Single vehicle crossed a median, impacted a tree, driver burned beyond recognition.

I'm not normally one to entertain conspiracy stuff... in fact I usually mock those who do, but this seems a little strange.

I'd like to know what his habits were. Did he normally drive down that street that early in the morning?

[NoMoreWarNow]

50. yes, it's very fishy

[glinda]

60. Slipped a drug at an interview?????

I would want to know where he was. Was he lured with a scoop?

[bluemarkers]

89. yes it is

cars don't usually burst into flames. Mythbusters tried to get cars to to this and they couldn't. Not a very scientific thing to reference, but it's what I thought about first,

and then I thought about this:

My friend's mother though had a similar accident. She was traveling on a highway, had a stroke, accelerated off the pavement, and hit a tree spinning. The car was wrapped around the tree. She, in her 70s survived the crash. She regained some functionality, but died about 8 months later.

[Divernan]

64. His hallmark as reporter: Refusal to cozy up to power (including Obama/Clinton)

Michael Hastings, the award-winning journalist whose explosive 2010 Rolling Stone profile of U.S. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal ("The Runaway General&quot led to McChrystal's resignation, died in an early morning car accident in Los Angeles on Tuesday, the magazine said. He was 33.

Hastings' "hallmark as a reporter was his refusal to cozy up to power," the magazine said, pointing to an email exchange he had last fall with Hillary Clinton aide Philippe Reines in the aftermath of the Benghazi attacks:

Hastings' aggressive line of questioning angered Reines. "Why do you bother to ask questions you've already decided you know the answers to?" Reines asked. "Why don't you give answers that aren't bullshit for a change?" Hastings replied.

Hastings was the author of two books: 2012's "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" based, in part, on his coverage of McChrystal; and 2008's "I Lost My Love In Baghdad," detailing two tumultuous years covering the war in Iraq for Newsweek. (Hastings' then-girlfriend, Andi Parhamovich, was killed in a botched kidnapping after joining him in Baghdad.)

He also authored a recent e-book, "Panic 2012: The Sublime and Terrifying Inside Story of Obama's Final Campaign."
http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/michael-hastings-dead-33-002300721.html

Hastings' hallmark as reporter was his refusal to cozy up to power. While other embedded reporters were charmed by McChrystal's bad-boy bravado and might have excused his insubordination as a joke, Hastings was determined to expose the recklessness of a man leading what Hastings believed to be a reckless war. "Runaway General" was a finalist for a National Magazine Award, won the 2010 Polk award for magazine reporting, and was the basis for Hastings' book, The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan.

For Hastings, there was no romance to America's misbegotten wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. He had felt the horror of war first-hand: While covering the Iraq war for Newsweek in early 2007, his then-fianceé, an aide worker, was killed in a Baghdad car bombing. Hastings memorialized that relationship in his first book, I Lost My Love in Baghdad: A Modern War Story.

A contributing editor to Rolling Stone, Hastings leaves behind a remarkable legacy of reporting, including an exposé of America's drone war, an exclusive interview with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at his hideout in the English countryside, an investigation into the Army's illicit use of "psychological operations" to influence sitting Senators and a profile of Taliban captive Bowe Bergdahl, "America's Last Prisoner of War."

Read more: http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michael-hastings-rolling-stone-contributor-dead-at-33-20130618#ixzz2WcrCVkqF
Follow us: @rollingstone on Twitter | RollingStone on Facebook


The Los Angeles Police Department would not release the name of a male driver killed in one-car crash at 4:15 a.m. in Hollywood. According to the Los Angeles Times, the vehicle crossed the median, slammed into a tree and burst into flames; the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. According to KTLA, coroner’s officials said the body was too badly burned to make an immediate identification.

[proverbialwisdom]

122. This is the strangest, most repellant tribute I've ever read.

http://theweek.com/article/index/245787/michael-hastings-remembered

Michael Hastings, remembered
JUNE 18, 2013, AT 9:17 PM

<>

I place Hastings in a cadre of other young writers (Jeremy Scahill and Daphne Eviatar are two) who rigorously interrogate powerful interests and become advocates for those bullied by government power. They see generals and admirals and wonder not how to cultivate them as sources but instead what they're doing to abuse their power.

Unlike muckrackers of the past — Jack Anderson comes to mind — they don't make deals with the devil to bring down other devils. Eviatar is simply tenacious. Scahill is relentless. Stories in search of unflinching, uncompromising advocates seem to be attracted to their energy.

I am no Michael Hastings and I probably never will be. My temperament and orientation is different. I approach my subjects from a different angle and I ask different questions. I do pretty well for myself.

But when I'm in the arena with people like Hastings, I'm always forced to check myself. This continuing, largely backgrounded argument between those who want to blow the house down and those who want to renovate it is valuable for journalism. It sharpens our edges and keeps those in power constantly guessing.

<>

Marc Ambinder is TheWeek.com's editor-at-large, and writes The Compass blog. He is the author, with D.B. Grady, of The Command and Deep State: Inside the Government Secrecy Industry. Marc is also a contributing editor for The Atlantic and GQ. Formerly, he served as White House correspondent for National Journal, chief political consultant for CBS News, and politics editor at The Atlantic. Marc is a 2001 graduate of Harvard. He is married to Michael Park, a corporate strategy consultant, and lives in Los Angeles.

[Quixote1818]

113. The engine flew 120 feet forward from the car?

How does an engine come out of a Mercedes just from hitting a tree? Engines are bolted in big time and connected to everything! Why wouldn't it have been pushed back toward the driver?

Seems a bit odd.

[zappaman]

120. If he was speeding, it could.

I saw the scene and those trees aren't going anywhere.
A mercedes will lose everytime.
And that street is known for speeding as evidenced by the speed trap set up this morning a few blocks south of where it happened.

[npk]

115. Perhaps he suffered a medical problem and that caused him to veer off the road...

Then again somebody could have been following him and he was speeding to try and get away. Or he could have just been speeding and a car or something crossed into his path and he swerved to avoid hitting it. Very sad and a horrific way to die.

[blackspade]

22. This is terrible news!

Hugs to his family and friends.

[Ford_Prefect]

25. Seems a very odd place to travel that fast.

It takes quite a bit of force to rip a car open the way it is shown in the LA Times story (see below). That it burned after the wreck is also an uncommon situation. He could have been in a hurry for his own reasons or he could have had "assistance".

I'd keep an open mind about what happened.


http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-michael-hastings-dies-car-crash-20130618,0,7611310.story

[Hissyspit]

26. Greg Mitchell: "well, relatively few know about his first book, about his courtship and life with a

woman (who worked for Air America), who both ended up in Iraq, where she lost her life. The book was, I Lost My Love in Baghdad, and it was pretty much ignored until his later fame. So here's a reminder."

http://gregmitchellwriter.blogspot.com/2013/06/michael-hastings-rip.html

[NoMoreWarNow]

51. yes, there is something very wrong here

[KoKo]

93. "...friends worried..he was agitated"..from KTLA Link from Greg Mitchell's Piece

Friends said that, because of the nature of Hastings’ work, he often led a very paranoid lifestyle.

“A lot of his friends were worried that he was in a very agitated state, yes. No question, people were concerned,” said Cenk Uygur, host of “The Young Turks.”

“He was incredibly tense and very worried and was concerned that the government was looking in on his material,” he said.

“I don’t know what his state of mind was at 4:30 in the morning, but I do know what his state of mind was in general, and it was a nervous wreck.”

In addition to his work for Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed, Hastings was also a contributor for GQ and Newsweek. He leaves behind a wife.

http://ktla.com/2013/06/19/driver-killed-in-fiery-car-crash-in-hollywood/#axzz2Wc62vgTS

[NoMoreWarNow]

97. the big question is what was the last story he was working on?

[KoKo]

138. We may never know...since he didn't have a chance to write it or finish it...

Hopefully there will be a full investigation of this. But, it seems like it will be LAPD doing it...and so...not much hope there if that's the jurisdiction for investigation.

But..hopefully more will be coming...and there are many who see his loss as devastating who might parse it all out and get the truth or it "whichever way it falls" out there.

[jberryhill]

53. "It takes quite a bit of force to rip a car open the way it is shown"

That's why fire crews have equipment for ripping cars open to remove passengers and bodies.

You think they just opened the door to remove the body?

[Ford_Prefect]

68. Cars rarely burn so thoroughly just after a wreck. To cause enough damage to engulf the car rapidly

Last edited Wed Jun 19, 2013, 05:17 AM - Edit history (1)

suggests the car was traveling quite fast when it hit the trees. The witness comments support this.

I'm quite familiar with the damage caused by impact. Safety team equipment cuts and pries the bodywork. The impact damage I am referring to is self-evident.

Edit: The video posted by octoberlib (#75) below confirms the damage.

[deurbano]

27. On May 18 (one month ago), I sent my 14-year-old son this link:

http://nextupvt.com/articles/work/vermonter-michael-hastings-cover-rollingstone-magazine

I was encouraging my son to attend a journalism summer camp, and I used Michael Hastings as an example of a REAL journalist.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

30. The photo is terribly disturbing.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-michael-hastings-dies-car-crash-20130618,0,7611310.story

I don't see how this can be taken as "Just an accident", considering all that is going on right now.

[sabrina 1]

108. I just read the eye witness's description of the crash:

“I was just coming northbound on Highland and I seen a car, like, going really fast and all of a sudden I seen it jackknife,” Luis Cortez said. “I just seen parts fly everywhere, and I slammed on my brakes and stopped and tried to call 911."

Why would parts fly everywhere from an automobile accident?

The vehicle crossed a median, struck a tree and burst into flames in the Hancock Park area, LAPD Officer Christopher No said. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.

Coroner's officials said they could not immediately identify the victim, saying the body was burned beyond recognition. Without identification or next of kin, neither the LAPD nor the coroner's department could officially identify the body found in the vehicle.

So very sad.

[zappaman]

116. It would depend on how fast he is going.

If he was speeding at excessive speeds, parts would go everywhere after hitting a large tree. I drive that road everyday and no car is match for those tress.

And that road is know for speeding...in fact, there was a speed trap set up this morning a few blocks south of where this accident occurred.

[sabrina 1]

123. I wonder why he was going so fast? Does anyone know where he was coming from?

[zappaman]

126. That street is known for speeding.

It's easy to fly down it.
Residents have tried for years to get speed bumps, but it's a main N/S thoroughfare.

[sabrina 1]

128. Thanks for the info. But is HE known for speeding? Does he have any speed related tickets on his

driving record? He must have going very, very fast to have his car explode instantly and for pieces to be flying all over the place.

[zappaman]

129. That is for the investigation to answer.

And yes, he must have been driving very fast.

[radiclib]

31. This is absolutely hideous news

The world can hardly afford to lose the likes of Michael.
The circumstances of this so-called (sorry, but I gotta go there) "accident" had better be closely and openly scrutinized.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

34. I agree. I also feel that there are way too many enemies out there of real journalism.

And the timing is totally suspicious. Not saying it was the "government". But I think it could easily have been a hit job timed to coincide with NSA revelations by those who felt betrayed by his reporting.

[mountain grammy]

32. What a huge loss for all who value real journalism.

Makes one wonder, what was he currently working on?

[Unknown Beatle]

33. RIP

Hastings had a lot of enemies to make this accident look suspicious.

[kentuck]

35. He has that beautiful wife, Elise Jordan...

Who has been on the Chris Hayes show a time or two, I think? She was a speechwriter for Condi Rice. I never knew they were married until I was reading about him.

[KoKo]

87. Here's a bit more from another link:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/michael-hastings-dead-33-002300721.html

"We are shocked and devastated by the news that Michael Hastings is gone," Buzzfeed editor-in-chief Ben Smith said in a statement. "Michael was a great, fearless journalist with an incredible instinct for the story, and a gift for finding ways to make his readers care about anything he covered from wars to politicians. He wrote stories that would otherwise have gone unwritten, and without him there are great stories that will go untold. Michael was also a wonderful, generous colleague and a joy to work with and a lover of corgis—especially his Bobby Sneakers."

The Los Angeles Police Department would not release the name of a male driver killed in one-car crash at approximately 4:25 a.m. in Hollywood. According to the Los Angeles Times, the vehicle crossed the median, slammed into a tree and burst into flames; the driver was pronounced dead at the scene. According to KTLA, coroner’s officials said the body was too badly burned to make an immediate identification. Video purportedly taken from the scene—posted on LAWeekly.com—shows a vehicle engulfed in flames.

Hastings, a native of Burlington, Vermont, is survived by his wife, Elise Jordan, a journalist and former speechwriter for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"Great reporters exude a certain kind of electricity," Rolling Stone managing editor Will Dana said in a statement. "The sense that there are stories burning inside them, and that there's no higher calling or greater way to live life than to be always relentlessly trying to find and tell those stories. I'm sad that I'll never get to publish all the great stories that he was going to write, and sad that he won't be stopping by my office for any more short visits which would stretch for two or three completely engrossing hours."

"Part of his passion stemmed from a desire to make everyone else wake the fuck up and realize the value of the life we're living," Matt Farwell, Hastings friend and fellow war reporter, wrote.

-----------

Hastings was the author of two books: 2012's "The Operators: The Wild and Terrifying Inside Story of America's War in Afghanistan" based, in part, on his coverage of McChrystal; and 2008's "I Lost My Love In Baghdad," detailing two tumultuous years covering the war in Iraq for Newsweek. (Hastings' then-girlfriend, Andi Parhamovich, was killed in a botched kidnapping attempt after joining him in Baghdad.)

He also authored a recent e-book, "Panic 2012: The Sublime and Terrifying Inside Story of Obama's Final Campaign."

[marmar]

39. k/r

Sad.

[ohheckyeah]

41. Removed for possible incorrect information. n/t

[senseandsensibility]

43. I was listening and I didn't hear that.

I heard him say traffic accident. Was he saying that the heart attack caused the accident?

[ohheckyeah]

45. Yes, that's what a friend who was watching Chris Hayes told me.

Sorry, but I was working and didn't catch the show. I'll remove the info if she was wrong....checking now.

[senseandsensibility]

42. So young, so talented, such a tragedy....

RIP, Mr. Hastings, and thanks for your good work. You made a difference in your short life.

[Parable Arable]

44. R.I.P Michael

It's really tragic.. His passing feels oddly surreal for some reason...

[Overseas]

46. So sad. Rolling Stone obituary by Tim Dickinson is wonderful.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michael-hastings-rolling-stone-contributor-dead-at-33-20130618

[WillyT]

48. That Was Outstanding... Thank You For Sharng...

[KoKo]

88. I remember that interview he did with Julian Assange...

From the article you link:

A contributing editor to Rolling Stone, Hastings leaves behind a remarkable legacy of reporting, including an exposé of America's drone war, an exclusive interview with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at his hideout in the English countryside, an investigation into the Army's illicit use of "psychological operations" to influence sitting Senators and a profile of Taliban captive Bowe Bergdahl, "America's Last Prisoner of War."

[Overseas]

145. It is excellent. Gives a broad understanding of him.

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/julian-assange-the-rolling-stone-interview-20120118

[cali]

47. Sadly, Michael is the cover story in the summer issue of Vermont Life

Great photo and great article and interview with him.



http://www.vermontlife.com/

[WillyT]

62. Thank You For That !!!

[reformist2]

63. +1000. Great interview. Thanks for the link!

[KoKo]

124. That is so sad...and the article title is chilling.

thanks for link.

[NotThisTime]

49. Such a horrible loss, one we could hardly afford in his generation

May he Rest In Peace

[ReRe]

54. RIP, Dear Michael

This is so sad. I just got home from dinner out and Rachel had already started her obit. The longer I heard her talk, it was clear what had happened. Somehow, Michael Hastings had died. I didn't know how until I jumped on DU. Deepest condolences to his family. This is really going to be hard, he was so young.

[liberalla]

55. So sad... what a loss

Rachel payed tribute to him in a nice segment.

My condolences to his family and friends. RIP

[Smarmie Doofus]

57. Hmmm.... I just came in the door from seeing Dirty Wars.

Frankly I came away worried for Jeremy Scahill.

[midnight]

61. "What we do know is that the government lied about who was responsible for the drone."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-rise-of-the-killer-drones-how-america-goes-to-war-in-secret-20120416

Hastings leaves behind a remarkable legacy of reporting, including an exposé of America's drone war, an exclusive interview with WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at his hideout in the English countryside, an investigation into the Army's illicit use of "psychological operations" to influence sitting Senators and a profile of Taliban captive Bowe Bergdahl, "America's Last Prisoner of War."

http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/michael-hastings-rolling-stone-contributor-dead-at-33-20130618



What a terrible loss....

[FarCenter]

66. War Correspondent Michael Hastings Killed In Car Accident

Hastings did an Ask Me Anything (AmA) on Reddit more than a year ago, and he offered some inspiring advice to would-be journalists:

1.) You basically have to be willing to devote your life to journalism if you want to break in. Treat it like it's medical school or law school.

2.) When interviewing for a job, tell the editor how you love to report. How your passion is gathering information. Do not mention how you want to be a writer, use the word "prose," or that deep down you have a sinking suspicion you are the next Norman Mailer.

3.) Be prepared to do a lot of things for free. This sucks, and it's unfair, and it gives rich kids an edge. But it's also the reality.

4.) When writing for a mass audience, put a fact in every sentence.

5.)Also, keep the stories simple and to the point, at least at first.

6.) You should have a blog and be following journalists you like on Twitter.

7.) If there's a publication you want to work for or write for, cold call the editors and/or email them. This can work.

8) By the second sentence of a pitch, the entirety of the story should be explained. (In other words, if you can't come up with a rough headline for your story idea, it's going to be a challenge to get it published.)

9) Mainly you really have to love writing and reporting. Like it's more important to you than anything else in your life--family, friends, social life, whatever.

10) Learn to embrace rejection as part of the gig. Keep writing/pitching/reading.

He was just 33 years old at the time of his death.

http://www.businessinsider.com/michael-hastings-killed-car-accident-2013-6

[MADem]

72. 4.) When writing for a mass audience, put a fact in every sentence.

The whole thing is great advice. It's a pocket journalism major, in a list of ten.

[Catherina]

69. :( What awful news. RIP Michael n/t

[colsohlibgal]

70. This Does Seem Fishy, I Hope It Really Is Looked At

There is enough here so far to raise my suspicions, much like what happened to Paul Wellstone some years ago. Just a bit too convenient for some in power that he regularly exposed.

It's just so sad in any event, way too young to die.

[Agschmid]

76. I'd ask the video of a mans death be removed.

If people want to see it they can google it. I feel it's disgusting to post this here on DU.

All in all it's my opinion so do what you want but I am sure this is not the way we should remember and honor him.

[octoberlib]

77. I'll remove it. nt

[Agschmid]

78. Thank you. n/t

[KoKo]

90. Who would have been there to do a video?

I don't want to see any video...but, it's not explained who would be able to do a video at that time of the morning if the car was the only one on the road? Smart Phone video or what? Is it from the witness to the accident?

[zappaman]

100. It's a residential street

and someone made a video of the car burning.
It's a street with northbound and southbound lanes divided by a median that has large trees.
If the car had gone to the right, it would have hit a house.
Hope that helps.

I drive that street almost every day.
Very sad.

[KoKo]

135. Thanks...good to have location from someone who lives there and familiar.

Amazing...that he swerved into the trees instead of hitting house. I didn't realize it was a City Street...thought it was part of the Freeway he crashed on.

I live on East Coast...so your info is interesting in putting the pieces together as to where he crashed an what was the roadway there.

[zappaman]

136. Yeah

The way it is written up, it almost sounds like a deserted highway somewhere.
The investigation will tell more...

[YeahSureRight]

79. How convenient a real journalist who is exposing the lies and making powerful

enemies ends up in a car accident.

Seems like his death is also sending a message to others to not expose the lies or you will end up dead.


We will never know the truth about what happened.

[OKNancy]

80. And the conspiracy theories start....

but I saw the video. A witness said he was going really fast. He said it in broken English but he said.. maybe 100.

A print article says: A witness described the accident to KTLA News: “I was just coming northbound on Highland and I seen a car, like, going really fast and all of a sudden I seen it jackknife,” Luis Cortez said. “I just seen parts fly everywhere, and I slammed on my brakes and stopped and tried to call 911."
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-michael-hastings-dies-car-crash-20130618,0,7611310.story

So, wouldn't the most likely thing be that he was going too fast and lost control?

ETA: no witness said anything about another car. A single car going way too fast

[reformist2]

84. Maybe his wife can explain why he was out and about at 4 am on a Tuesday?

[WilliamPitt]

91. A reporter out late?

*gasp*

[reformist2]

95. Like Michael Hastings, I'm just asking the question. It needs to be asked.

[JI7]

127. he was a reporter , he isn't on some 9-5 ,5 days a week schedule

[KoKo]

94. KTLA report said friends said he was agitated and worried..

Friends said that, because of the nature of Hastings’ work, he often led a very paranoid lifestyle.

“A lot of his friends were worried that he was in a very agitated state, yes. No question, people were concerned,” said Cenk Uygur, host of “The Young Turks.”

“He was incredibly tense and very worried and was concerned that the government was looking in on his material,” he said.

“I don’t know what his state of mind was at 4:30 in the morning, but I do know what his state of mind was in general, and it was a nervous wreck.”

In addition to his work for Rolling Stone and BuzzFeed, Hastings was also a contributor for GQ and Newsweek. He leaves behind a wife.

http://ktla.com/2013/06/19/driver-killed-in-fiery-car-crash-in-hollywood/#axzz2Wc62vgTS

[arthritisR_US]

81. This is so horrible and so sad. One of the few

truth tellers, not afraid to tell truth to power. R I P

[toby jo]

96. First thoughts were 'it sounds like the kind of guy they'd want to kill, but he probably died in

all that crazy LA traffic'.

Remember what happened to Patton? The guy that ran him down admitted it was a hit when he was pretty old. TPTB didn't like the ole rascal and his 'following', too much charisma, put in Ike.

No problem here seeing a takedown.

[Zorra]

106. Aw, no.

[whatchamacallit]

107. On tv last night they showed that the entire engine had somehow been thrown from the car

and was sitting intact up the street.

[HooptieWagon]

109. Certainly a suspicious accident.

Why was he driving so fast...being pursued perhaps? Fire is possible, but highly unusual. I don't know the area...perhaps a bump in road or attempt to avoid stray animal caused him to loose control...but if road level then what made him loose control? Have ph records been checked? Was he on ph or texting at time?
I'll wait for more info before thinking he was "accidented", but this is a pretty unusual circumstance, and I hope the investigation is thorough.

RIP, Mr Hastings.

[zappaman]

117. Not if you are familiar with the road.

It's easy to speed on that particular stretch.
I drive it everyday and try not to speed since there are frequently speed traps...like there was this morning.
At that time of the morning, however, it would be easy to fly down that street.

[HooptieWagon]

118. Thx for the info, I'm not familiar with the area.

So there's no road characteristics that would be likely to cause him to loose control? This road has little traffic at 4:30 am?

[zappaman]

119. Not really.

It's flat, but if you are going fast, there are some depressions (the opposite of speed bumps) that could cause you to lose control if you weren't expecting them.
It's also narrow.
If his car had flown to the right instead of the left, he would have hit a parked car or possibly a house.

[HooptieWagon]

121. OK,tnx for the info. nt

[sabrina 1]

130. That's interesting, and it's possible. I drive on streets like that and don't speed, as do lots of

people though.

Maybe he was a very irresponsible driver and already has a record of speeding. I'm sure we will find that out.

[Hissyspit]

133. @wikileaks: Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he

@wikileaks: Michael Hastings contacted WikiLeaks lawyer Jennifer Robinson just a few hours before he died, saying that the FBI was investigating him.

[KoKo]

141. Well..his friends said he was agitated...probably over NSA stuff and the blow back...

and, it's possible he was under stress and hit some pot hole in road going fast and it caused this.

On the other hand...why was he driving around that street in CA at that hour of the morning around 4:10 a.m.? Had he met with someone who was necessary to talk to working on a new story? It is an odd time for him to be out there? Why was he speeding and veered off into a tree with such force that his car blew up? Whatever.....

We shall see... It's upsetting so we get into speculating...(those of us who've seen too many like him end up in mysterious deaths..so we do get concerned)

[cascadiance]

134. Cenk just now had a good rant on the press going after Michael and put the effort in to defend him..

... on his Current Young Turks show against their post-facto B.S. they've thrown at him now that he's unable to defend himself.

Someone get this on youtube soon so that we can post it here!

[dorkzilla]

137. Video of the crash aftermath -- HOLY SHIT

I can't imagine anyone driving this fast in Melrose to cause this accident. Holy holy holy shit.

http://gawker.com/gruesome-video-appears-to-be-aftermath-of-michael-hasti-514428722?autoplay=1

[Cleita]

140. Fascinating video.

I hope it's well studied.

[FarCenter]

143. By the water gushing up in the median, it looks like he took out a hydrant.

That would tear up motor mounts and the gas tank.

[Catherina]

146. I just watched the video. Sorry, no way. Not on that street in a residential

not deliberately I mean