As reported on TechCrunch.
by GREGORY FERENSTEIN
Police made an example out of a teenager from Oregon who boasted about driving drunk on Facebook. “Drivin drunk… classic 
but whoever’s vehicle i hit i am sorry. 
,” wrote the clueless 18-year-old. According to local news channel KGW, two people tipped the officers via Facebook about the post. After inspecting the most-likely-profusely-sweating/hungover teen’s car, the damage on his vehicle matched that of two other vehicles hit earlier that New Year’s morning.
And, with their powers of deduction…bam! Handcuffs. The suspect was charged with two counts of “failing to perform the duties of a driver,” but not drunk driving, because a Facebook post is apparently not sufficient evidence of intoxication, according to KGW’s report from Deputy Chief Brad Johnston.
In a press release, the police wrote, “Astoria Police have an active social media presence. It was a private Facebook message to one of our officers that got this case moving, though. When you post…on Facebook, you have to figure that it is not going to stay private long.”
Note: unlike many other media reports, I have decided not to reveal the teenager’s name. We all did stupid things when we were young. He’s getting his legal comeuppance and hopefully the story will deter his peers from reckless activity. But, one stupid mistake shouldn’t be a life-long sentence of public shame.