Alta. teen's wild YouTube stunts draw cops' attention

He is a speed demon who is gaining notoriety from the daredevil antics he performs and posts on YouTube, but Chris Ball, the Alberta teen who is hoping to make the leap into filmmaking one day, has also caught the attention of police.

CTV Calgary: Tara Robinson on the antics

Police in Calgary say a Cochrane teen is putting himself, and others, in danger with his stunting, but the teenager says he doesn't think his stunts are putting others at risk.

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Chris Ball hangs outside the window of the SUV after leaving the driver's seat.

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Stupid hurts, only a matter of time. Try an education, that'll take you somewhere.

Shaun

Alta. teen's wild YouTube stunts draw cops' attention

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Alta. teen's wild YouTube stunts draw cops' attention

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CTV.ca News Staff

Date: Wed. May. 19 2010 10:02 PM ET

An Alberta teen who posts videos of his dangerous stunts online in hopes of kickstarting a Hollywood career, may be in need of a getaway vehicle.

Chris Ball's spectacular stunts have wowed commentators on YouTube, but authorities say he is putting himself and others in danger.

In one of the videos, taken when the 19-year-old from Cochrane, Alta. was still in high school two years ago, he sets the cruise control of his mother's SUV to 100 km/h on a two-lane highway, climbs out the window and surfs on the vehicle while a female passenger steers from the passenger side.

"I've never seen anybody else do it and I wanted to see if I could do it," Wall, a self-proclaimed adrenaline junkie, told CTV Calgary.

In another video, he jumps from the roof of his SUV to the hood, while a friend drives it at highway speed, recalling a scene from Quentin Tarantino's "Death Proof."

He performs a high-speed spinout through a controlled intersection in another video.

Ball, who sometimes goes by the moniker Chris Bawl online, says he doesn't think much about getting injured, or worse, when performing stunts.

"If I thought about the consequences while I was doing it, I would get too scared and I probably wouldn't do it. So I probably wouldn't think about it until after."

"The video makes it look a lot crazier than it is," he added.

Ball said he's not putting others at risk, but law enforcement doesn't see it that way. Police have launched an investigation into whether criminal charges can be laid.

"Maybe he needs to get charged with this to realize the magnitude of what he's doing and the risk he's putting people at," Calgary Police Service spokesperson Kevin Brookwell told CTV Calgary.

"From the driving ones I've seen there's definitely elements of the offence for criminal dangerous driving."

Ball says he now performs stunts that only put himself at risk. On Monday evening he posted a video that shows him jumping from a bridge, onto a moving train.

"Now I only put myself in harm's way and not others," he said in a YouTube video, posted in response to the CTV report. "I'm not trying to do this to say ‘Oh, look at me, I'm not some stupid kid.' No, I'm saying ‘Here's what I can do.' I decided to film it and hopefully, it's going to take me somewhere."

Viewer's warning: Explicit language

With reports from CTV's Janet Dirks and CTV Calgary's Tara Robinson

Comments are now closed for this story

Funny in AB
said

And people in alberta wonder why their insurance rates are so high.... Just watch Canada's worst driver and there is always an albertian in the finals...

Kevin
said

What bothers me is that this kid is going to mess himself up good, and it's going to be our tax dollars that are spent on health care that are going to bail him out. Injuries suffered due to stupid acts like this should not be covered. He knows very well what he's doing and the serious outcomes. That in itself should be an automatic exclusion from the public health care system. Save the emergency room for people who's injuries are beyond their control.

David J
said

He says he only puts himself at risk, but can he know that another car will not come around the bend? What if he falls off the hood of Mommy's SUV and gets run over with his friend driving? Throw the book at him!

dmac
said

It is obvious this kid has no respect for himself or anybody around him. IMO this should not ever have been allowed to get this far. Confiscate his vehicle, put a public restraining order on him to stop endangering the public safety. If he breaks the order, jail him

ian
said

To JB in Calgary. So you think we live in a police state do you? My feeling is, hey let the little moron kill himself, but leave the innocent people out of it, and don't saddle the taxpayers with the costs related to his little stunts. If the girl "driving" the vehicle from the passenger seat were to lose control, what do you think would happen? She'd likely be killed. It is a glaring example of how some people really don't care who is affected by their actions and feel entitled to do what they want when they want. So if you want to get rid of the Police State, I say anyone who does anything that will ultimately cost the taxpayers any money, will be responsible to foot the bill. If the car crashes, let his family pay the bill to clean up and fix the mess. If he kills someone else then his parents should pay the family of the victim. All ambulance and medical bills should be payed by his survivors. There, no more government interference.

Kyle
said

I could not care less if he hurts him self or even kills him self. (Better if he kills him self so my taxs dont get involved) any way Im more concerned about what if that SUV loses control and collides with a mom and dad with there young children driving down the highway and ends up killing one of them. He is not only a danger to him self but a sever threat to others. through the book at him, maybe he will smarten up.

dose of reality
said

Way to go kid...Darwinisim at work. I'm a paramedic in the GTA and people like this kid keep me employed. When your brains are spread all over the pavement I'll be sure to point out your under developed cerebellum to my current student. Seen it so many times that I'm sure it will happen to him.

JH
said

What a loser! Shame only that he might get someone else killed with his brain-dead stunts. If the kid thinks this is cool he belongs in a cold storage freezer awaiting burial.

Patrick from SK
said

.. and for offing himself in the stupidest way humanly possible, the grand prize of the 2010 Darwin Awards goes to... Chris Ball!! Natural selection wins again!!

Joe Dokes
said

He is using his mother's vehicle. Where the heck is she during all of this? Bad Parenting?

Ted MacLaggan
said

This kid is in the running for a darwin award...

Lz in Edmonton
said

Here is one for you. It is only a matter of time before he DOES fall off and either seriously hurts himself or gets killed. The issue is that if he HURTS himself and breaks his neck, us, the taxpayer will be paying for him for the rest of his life via our universal health care system of covering fools like this. Charges of Dangerous Driving and driving with undo care and attention are EASY. He also has proof so he already convicted himself. He is also not thinking of the emotional wellbeing of the "female" or any other young driver as the bills to cover their pyschiatrist bills after seeing their friend get mushed on the road is again at our cost. Throw the book at him and hopefully he does go to Hollywood where they can chew him up after they use him.

kimmers
said

Yet another contender for the Darwin Award. Congratulations.

Lois in Ontario
said

At 15 yrs of age as a passenger in a car driven by an inexperienced 17 year old who thought he was a hot shot, I was crunched up badly, and trapped in the car for 45 min with my parents on the gas-soaked scene. These activities have life-changing long-range consequences, if you live. Stop loaning him vehicles mom and friends. He is not a star, he is heading for a catastrophe, that no matter what he thinks will affect others one way or another. He has no idea what he is playing around with. No one is going to offer a kid in a wheelchair a career in stunt-anything.

Dave W, Lacombe, AB
said

No brain, no pain! Yes this delinquent states that he's only doing things that might hurt himself (in fact, will hurt him if he keeps this up!) but in some of the videos he's not alone. Therefore his friends - who probably have the same level of synaptic activity as he does - could get hurt or killed. Not only that, most of this is done in public, in uncontrolled ways, with no safety equipment - totally unlike a movie set where it's planned and scripted and storyboarded and all the safety precautions possible are taken. I say throw the book at this guy - and his parents too for not reining him in. After all, they're obviously not stopping him from doing this so they're partially responsible.

Al in Edmonton
said

To JB in Calgary:

What is his crime? How about blasting past a stop sign virtually out of control? How about stunting? How about driving without due care and attention? He's breaking so many laws under the Highway Traffic Act that it would take a lot of space to list them all. Too bad stupidity isn't illegal.

c300
said

this fool should be charged with every charge the police can get him for and should be banned from ever having a drivers licence ever again in canada before he kills someone

KJ in Kingston Ontario
said

I saw a video on the punishment administered to a driver in Singapore who was caught drinking and driving -- on his first offence. Let's just stay he definitely won't be sitting behind the wheel or on a chair for a very very long time. If this reckless idiot in Alberta were to face the same sort of justice he might just smarten up a little -- and also get his adrenaline fix. It is clear in the posted video that another car is approaching him in on the highway and they could easily have crashed due to his complete lack of judgment. He should at the very least have his license suspended for a year and take retraining.

Toupie in Calgary
said

Idiot!

Westerner
said

Ego got the better of this guy - brains came second! My advice to motorist around him - get a plate # and stay clear of him - let the police take it from there.

abdula
said

Mandosa Arote: "Let him do his thing. He'll weed himself from the gene pool. Number one reason why universal health care = bad."So the logic here is just because there are idiots out there that car surf. Every other person who just happens to have a low income and can't afford health care or insurance needs to suffer. If you really like paying medical bills fine move to the US. Please one less vote against medicare.

Donaldbain
said

The driving "stunts" are pretty foolish, but if he doesn't put others at risk he should be left alone to fulfill the Darwinian process. My friends and I did stuff way more dangerous when we were young and stupid, but we never hurt anyone but ourselves. Those that learned the lessons of mortality and stopped being so careless are still around, those that didn't are gone. We didn't have video cameras, but he should have some nice footage to watch from his wheelchair or coma bed.

JB in Calgary
said

Gotta love the Police State we live in. What is his crime? Posting it? I hope the young lad is reading these, if they charge you, make them prove that this wasn't done with a blue screen and a wind fan.

John Zillman
said

Is there any common sense left in this world anymore or did that go the way of rotary dial phones?This guy is a complete idiot.

Fellow Cochranite
said

Watching some of Chris's videos on Youtube remind me of the fact that the part of the brain that processes negative consequences for actions isn't fully mature until roughly 25 years of age. This is glaringly apparent in Chris's life. He may be 19, but he is in no way a mature young man yet. There's nothing wrong with having a need for some serious adventure and adrenaline, but this young man hasn't reached a level of maturity to fully comprehend the impact and hardship his decisions for thrills could have on his parents and family should he become maimed or killed in one of his stunts. Not to mention the negative influence he's having on others young people.Go to a professional stunt school rather than grandizing on Youtube. I don't want this to sound rude, but you need to grow up Chris.

Charlie
said

If he's so into this crap why doesn't he get an education in it and get some professional training at a stunt school? Then he will at least be able to justify if he gets hurt bad or if he dies from it, then it can be justified as an occupational death. Also then he won't hurt anyone else but himself.

Hands down though what he's doing right now is ultimate stupid. Hope he doesn't take someone else with him if he dies in a horrible crash.

Sober, Newmarket
said

Stupid is who stupid does?

Portes
said

I agree with all the comments. But just think back to when you were his age. Didn't you do something as stupid, if not more so. I mean honestly think back

Pam
said

He doesn't appear to be concerned about the chaos he causes IF he has or creates damage for the people who have to clean up after him and the expenses incurred or the human emotional suffering of the survivors and their relations.

Mandosa
said

Let him do his thing. He'll weed himself from the gene pool. Number one reason why universal health care = bad.

realist
said

I like in the beginning of the article where it says he used his mother's SUV. Pretty easy to do crazy stuff when it isn't your property at risk. The passengers in the car when he does stunts like these are idiots too.

kg1
said

too bad the young man doesnt have a brain

Shaun
said

Stupid hurts, only a matter of time. Try an education, that'll take you somewhere.

Cadguy
said

There must be 50 things that the Police can ticket this kid for in these. Maybe they should give his parents head a shake. If they didn't already know then now is the chance to do something. If they did know, well this apple didn't fall far from the tree I guess. Professional stunt people take unmost care to plan and protect themselves or others from injury. This person is doing none of that. So - if he doesn't understand that the industry relies on safety first, he'll never end up anywhere but a pine box in the end!