03 Dec Dan on Nightline: December 3, 2013

Dan anchored Nightline last night in an episode that discussed the tragic death of actor Paul Walker, a woman’s 800 pound weight loss and a bird bandit who stole a GoPro camera and flew over 70 miles with it. The episode began with a tribute to Paul Walker, the actor at the center of The Fast and the Furious movie franchise, who tragically died this past weekend, in a car accident, at a charity event. Walker, the self described “adrenaline junkie” who was also a member of a Southern California racing team, had a love of fast cars and authorities are saying, ironically, speed played a large part in this accident. Driving the  2005 Porsche Carrera GT (one of the fastest cars available) was Walker’s friend, Roger Rodas, who also perished in the crash. Both men leave behind loving family and friends and they will surely be missed. The next topic is about a woman named Mayra Rosales, who was charged with murdering her young nephew. She claimed that she lost her balance and fell on top of the young boy, ultimately killing him.  When an autopsy report showed the boy had suffered sustained abuse, Mayra finally confessed that she was in fact covering for her sister. Why was she covering for her sister? Says Mayra, ” I tried to protect my sister and I was already dying. I was going to get capitol murder charges, the death penalty, I really saw it like they were doing me a favor.” At 800 pounds, Mayra thought she had nothing to live for. After the charges were dropped and Mayra’s sister Jaime was charged, Mayra began treatment from a round-the-clock obesity doctor and now, 800 pounds lighter, has no more health problems. She calls it ” a miracle of God”. Watch the full episode, including footage from the GoPro stolen by an eagle, here.