DETROIT – It's a video confession that takes you through an Ohio man's guilty conscious.
Recorded on Sept. 3, 2013, the YouTube video that's now gone viral opens with 4 simple, but very powerful words:
"I killed a man."
With his face blurred, the man in this video confesses to driving drunk and killing another near Columbus this past June.
"I ended up going the wrong way down the highway directly into oncoming traffic and I struck car and I killed a man," he said in the video.
He described a night out with friends and admitted he "made a mistake" when he decided to drive his truck home after "drinking heavily". The entire video confession is just under four minutes long, and about half way through, the 22-year-old comes face to face with the truth, revealing his identity.
"My name is Matthew Cordle and on June 22, 2013 I hit and killed Vincent Canzani. This video will act as my confession. When I get charged, I'll plead guilty and take full responsibility for everything I have done to Vincent and his family," he says.
22-year-old Cordle was hospitalized in the crash, but not yet charged.
According to the Associated Press, Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said Cordle has been a suspect, but not yet charged. The prosecutor plans to indict Cordle for aggravated vehicular homicide with an alcohol specification, a charge that carries a maximum of eight years in prison upon conviction.
The video ends, as it began with a powerful message.
"By releasing this video, I know exactly what it means. I am giving the prosecution everything they need to put me away for a very long time," Cordle says.
"I am willing to take that sentence, for one reason. That reason is so I can pass this message on to you, I beg you and I say that word beg specifically, I am begging you please don't drink and drive, don't make the same excuses I did."
Cordle's attorney said the video "is a strong testament" to his character.
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