Couple cited in YouTube stunt
Corona pair arrested after boy is shown in bead-filled pickup.
A Corona couple were arrested Thursday after authorities reviewed YouTube videos of an 8-year-old boy sloshing around the bed of a pickup truck filled with water and gel beads as it traveled through the city, police said.
Holly Piazza, 45, and her fiance, Brian Chase, 37, were cited on suspicion of child endangerment, which is a misdemeanor, according to Det. John Samano of the Corona Police Department. The boy is Piazza’s son.
“Poor parenting skills,” Samano said.
“It’s a poor choice and a poor judgment on behalf of the parents.”
An investigation was launched Monday after police received information about two YouTube videos posted under the user name “Rocco Piazza Vlogs.” The popular YouTube user has nearly 1.5 million subscribers.
Police said the videos “depicted dangerous driving behavior involving children” on the streets of Corona.
One of the videos showed a boy describing what he planned to do as he walked inside the bed of the truck.
“We are putting the vinyl down and taping it down and then we’re going to put 1 million Orbeez and then we’re going to put some water,” he said.
The video then shows a man, woman and the boy prepping the truck bed and filling it with Orbeez, which are nontoxic, absorbent polymer beads. The beads absorb water and swell to as much as 300 times their original size.
After filling the bed of the white Dodge pickup, the boy and woman jump into the beads. The truck then starts to move.
The truck drives through a residential neighborhood before turning onto a main street, driving past dozens of cars stopped at busy intersections. The video includes drone footage showing an aerial view of the truck bed.
At times, the truck swerves and appears to present several tense moments for the boy and woman.
“After the family was done with the Orbeez material, they dumped all of it on Rimpau Avenue near Erick Street, creating a dangerous roadway condition for motorists,” police said in a statement.
Another video titled “Illegally dumping a million Orbeez” shows the truck as it drives through a busy street with its tailgate down and its bed filled with the beads. As the truck accelerates, the Orbeez bounce onto the street, leaving a mess on the road.
In the same video, a woman, whom police identified as Piazza, explains how dumping the beads would be illegal and could be considered littering.
She goes on to say, “We have come up with an idea to get rid of a million Orbeez, and it’s really illegal and it’s really bad.”
Piazza then urges viewers to subscribe to the YouTube channel if they want to see what happens next.
“Don’t report us,” she says.
Police said the beads spilled into sewer drains.
“The city Department of Water and Power was notified, and they responded for an extensive cleanup of the area on Rimpau Avenue,” police said.
Police said they were able to identify Piazza and Chase after reviewing the videos.
Piazza also received a traffic citation for illegally dumping materials upon the roadway, police said. Piazza and Chase will be charged for the cost of the cleanup.
The Riverside County Department of Child Protective Service is investigating the case, Samano said.
“We hope parents learn from this and don’t ever put their kids in danger,” he said.
Piazza did not immediately respond to a request for comment.