How David Dobrik Risked His Friend Jeff Wittek’s Life For A Vlog
When will David Dobrik be cancelled for good?
YouTube & Tinseltown / Shutterstock After being "canceled" and seemingly dropped by his major sponsors, David Dobrik is yet again under fire for his involvement in the accident involving fellow “Vlog Squad” member Jeff Wittek.
The 24-year-old was the center of controversy a couple of weeks ago when a woman came forward alleging that a Vlog Squad member, “Durte” Dom Zeglaitis, sexually assaulted her in 2018. Dobrik was responsible for filming the woman entering the room as well as allegedly purchasing the alcohol for the woman and her friends, who were under the legal drinking age at the time.
In a new documentary series that's being released in segments every few days, Jeff Wittek is telling the story of his near-death experience and how it all went down, and he says that David Dobrik was the man behind the accident. The news has caused social media to erupt.
Warning: Footage may be disturbing to some viewers.
How did Jeff Wittek's accident happen?
Before COVID-19 hit the U.S. and more specifically, California, Dobrik and his Vlog Squad were one of the most popular YouTube groups around. They enjoyed an immense amounts of success before the pandemic caused Dobrik to stop posting his vlogs as regularly as before. This would play a key role in Wittek’s accident.
About a year or so later, Dobrik had started to plan his “comeback vlog” and make a big re-entrance on the social media platform. He had a few of his friends, Wittek included, jump out of a plane a few hundred times. Although he was supposed to join them, Dobrik bailed last minute because he wanted to continue playing video games.
Days later, the friends and other members of the Vlog Squad met up to shoot more video for their YouTube channels and Dobrik’s vlog. They went to a small lake with a massive excavator for a dangerous stunt that Dobrik thought would be good for views.
The excavator stunt
The idea was that they would attach a rope or cord to the crane, set in the middle of the 1-foot-deep lake, and spin it in circles while someone would hold on while surfing or wakeboarding. It later escalated into raising the excavator's crane and just swinging people around wildly.
Dobrik was the person controlling the excavator. He had one hand on the controls and another holding his camera to capture the vlog footage. It has been rumored that no one had gotten a license, as required, to operate the excavator.
In Wittek’s second episode of his documentary, the scene is revealed at the end of the video. Corinna Kopf, a Vlog Squad member, went first, quickly pleading to be let down. She said, “You take things too far,” referring to Dobrik and his stunts.
As Wittek mentions in the video, he was on a high after doing so many jumps from a plane that he was willing to do almost anything for good content, so he went next on the excavator.
“I didn’t know I was gonna go that fast. So I grabbed the rope, and I tried to make a goddamn funny video for people. But this is where I made a mistake. I forgot that the biggest f***ing idiot I know was driving it,” Wittek said in the video, right before the footage shows him slamming, head first, into the side of the exavator's crane.
Wittek would later be rushed to the hospital where he has since undergone numerous surgeries. Thankfully, he was able to maintain vision in both eyes.
Although many details are still unknown (as the rest of the documentary hasn’t been released yet), Wittek has said during promotion that he has a metal plate in his head now. He's also required multiple eye surgeries to save the eye that was impacted by the accident.
The documentary’s release caused an eruption on social media, with many voicing their opinions on David Dorbik and not holding back.
The reaction to Dobrik's irresponsible shenanigans is growing
Many people took to social media, specifically Twitter, upon the release of the second episode of Wittek’s documentary video. The outrage following the rape allegations grew once more as fresh news circulated that Dobrik was responsible for almost taking the life of his friend.
“David comes across as though he doesn't have shred of respect for anybody but himself. He treats others terribly for his own gain because he is so egocentric he cant (or chooses not to) see how it hurts them,” one Twitter user wrote.
Many are wondering how Dobrik hasn’t been sued yet. Whether it’s by Wittek, or the state of California for Dobrik’s illegal use of an excavator without a license/permit. Many just want to see him canceled or out of the YouTube scene so that no one else gets hurts.
Following the documentary’s second episode, many found a video that has resurfaced of Dobrik telling the story of how he negatively affected his friend Alex’s life over a “pine cone fight.”
It’s clear the two accidents are different scenarios but both have similar outcomes, and social media was quick to note that.
Following the release of the Insider article exposing Dobrik’s involvement in the rape incident, he reportedly lost 322,000 followers on Instagram. Wittek’s documentary is sure to cause that number to further plummet. He currently sits just under the 14 million follower mark on the platform.
What could happen next for Wittek and Dobrik?
Jeff Wittek is still recovering from the accident with surgeries still on the table, but he seems to be in much better shape since the accident, which is said to have occurred in June of 2020.
The 30-year-old has recently been promoting the release of his documentary, and we’re all just glad he’s alive and doing well.
As for Dobrik, he is sure to be trending at least for the next few weeks as more footage comes out. Apparently, there's video of Dobrik reflecting on the incident and laying out his own perspective.
It appears as if he is far from escaping the spotlight and the consequences of his actions.
Tomás Diniz Santos is a writer living in Orlando, Florida. He covers news, entertainment, and pop-culture topics.