Street Racing accident kills 7

[Nick Koan]

What looks more interesting is that it doesn't look like one of the street racers was the one that plowed into the crowd.

You usually won't get a whole lot of sympathy out of me for a street racing accident, but this is bad. Especially since it sounds like the driver of the car wasn't even participating in the race. It almost sounds like he just plowed through the crowd for the hell of it.

http://news.rgj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar...2Fbreakingnews

ACCOKEEK, Md. (AP) — A car plowed into a crowd that had gathered to watch a drag race on a suburban road early Saturday, killing seven people and injuring at least four, police said.

Witnesses said they had just watched two cars in the illegal street race speed past when a car without any lights on came up behind them and veered into a crowd of about 50.

“There were just bodies everywhere; it was horrible,” said Crystal Gaines, 27, whose father was among the dead.

Gaines said she grabbed her child but could not help her father, William Gaines Sr., 61.

“He wasn’t breathing, he wasn’t moving,” she said. “His body was in pieces.”

A white sedan hit people standing on the side of Route 210 around 3:40 a.m., Prince George’s County Police Cpl. Clinton Copeland said, but it wasn’t clear whether that was one of the cars involved in the race. A tractor-trailer that came by shortly afterward may also have struck someone on the road as it tried to avoid the crash, he said.

“It’s probably one of the worst scenes I’ve seen,” Copeland said. “This is a situation that could have been avoided, and it’s a very tragic situation.”

Four people were taken to hospitals, Copeland said. Their conditions weren’t immediately known.

Hours after the accident on the divided highway in Accokeek, bodies covered in white sheets were scattered along what police were calling a 200-yard crime scene. Some were in the road, while others were on the shoulder.

The sedan came to a rest on an embankment about 150 feet from where the crowd had been. It had a crumpled front and hood, and the roof had partially collapsed.

The driver of the white sedan had been interviewed and did not appear to be seriously hurt, but a passenger was among the dead, Police Capt. Donald Frick said.

Authorities were working to identify the victims by showing digital photos of them to bystanders who said loved ones had been hurt. John Courtney said after viewing one of the images that his brother, Mark, 33, was among the dead.

“He liked going to the race track, watching races,” Courtney said. “It’s going to take a toll on my family for a long time.”

Investigators had “more questions than answers,” Copeland said.

Route 210 has two lanes in each direction and traffic lights about every 150 to 200 yards in Accokeek, about 20 miles south of Washington. In that area, the road is flanked by some businesses but has little traffic in the early hours, Copeland said.

[sperry]

Well, I'm sure that driver was expecting to find a crowd of 50 people standing in the street at 3am.

This is why it's illegal to watch street racing too. Granted if the driver of the "sedan" (looks like a big ass Cadillac to me) really was driving around w/ his headlights off (I bet it was an old guy), he's just about as dumb as the street racers... but I'm not really feeling all that sorry for people that are intentionally spectators at a dangerous "motorsports" event w/o anything protecting them from the cars. You wouldn't stand on the track at Daytona to watch would you? Sounds like a good way to get yourself killed.

[Evo Mike]

Yeah, it was wrong for the street racers to be doing what they were doing, BUT.. it wasn't them who killed all those people. It sounds like that old guy in the big ass cadillac wasn't paying attention and rammed into this whole crowd of people.

like the cop told me, "no matter if they are in the crosswalk or not, the ped's have the right of way".

hahahaha

[Kevin M]

Originally Posted by Evo Mike

Yeah, it was wrong for the street racers to be doing what they were doing, BUT.. it wasn't them who killed all those people. It sounds like that old guy in the big ass cadillac wasn't paying attention and rammed into this whole crowd of people.

like the cop told me, "no matter if they are in the crosswalk or not, the ped's have the right of way".

hahahaha

I'm still inclined to say that if you're standing on the side of a rural/unlighted road at 3 AM and get disintegrated (apparently one cvictim may have been struck by a semi avoiding the car that did the rest of the damage) it's pretty much your fault.

[sperry]

Originally Posted by Evo Mike

Yeah, it was wrong for the street racers to be doing what they were doing, BUT.. it wasn't them who killed all those people. It sounds like that old guy in the big ass cadillac wasn't paying attention and rammed into this whole crowd of people.

like the cop told me, "no matter if they are in the crosswalk or not, the ped's have the right of way".

hahahaha

There's more info in newer articles about the crash.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j...FafXQD8URL9D00

The crowd had just watched a race speed off and walked out into the middle of the road with their backs to oncoming traffic. The driver of the car couldn't see them because of all the tire-smoke from the start of the race.

I'm not saying anyone "deserved to die", but claiming the driver was totally at fault or that the people killed were just innocents in the wrong place at the wrong time is just untrue. Those people put themselves in a risky situation and paid the ultimate price.

[M3n2c3]

Originally Posted by sperry

I'm not saying anyone "deserved to die", but claiming the driver was totally at fault or that the people killed were just innocents in the wrong place at the wrong time is just untrue. Those people put themselves in a risky situation and paid the ultimate price.

I agree - the loss of life is unfortunate, but there are most certainly going to be consequences for wandering in to the street with your back to oncoming traffic.

[Kunikos]

It could have been the middle of the day and an old person with bad eyesight and on medications that slow their reaction time could plow into a jaywalking group of people very easily. Old people are a menace, IMO.

That said, I can see why it's kinda dumb to be standing around in the middle of a thoroughfare in the middle of the night. Maybe if they had reflective materials on and blocked off the road with flares or something they wouldn't have been hit as easily, but hey, they weren't exactly smart trying to do a street race in the first place.

[JonnydaJibba]

Originally Posted by Kunikos

Maybe if they had reflective materials on and blocked off the road with flares or something they wouldn't have been hit as easily, but hey, they weren't exactly smart trying to do a street race in the first place.

If they had all that stuff, they would probably be smart enough to race on a track.

I guess I said what you just said.

[Nick Koan]

"Streets closed pizza boy, find another way home"

[TahoeTom]

i had an old dude back into me in a parking lot once, he proceded to get out of his car, throw his coffee/tea on my windshield and proceed to attempt to break my drivers side window with his fist, i was too awstruck to even get out of my car. Thank god a rent-a-cop partroling the parking lots came and calmed him down, we exchanged info and went on our ways. Anytime i need a good laugh i just replay that mental video.

[tysonK]

You know this thread is 10 months old?

Don't be that guy.

[100_Percent_Juice]

Oh Tom. How does your story even remotely relate to that old article?

[Jesubi11]

You’re fired!

[knucklesplitter]

Originally Posted by 100_Percent_Juice

Oh Tom. How does your story even remotely relate to that old article?

He was prolly relating to Kunikos' dumbass "old people are a menace" comment.

[TahoeTom]

u got it knucklesplitter

[Kunikos]

Originally Posted by TahoeTom

i had an old dude back into me in a parking lot once, he proceded to get out of his car, throw his coffee/tea on my windshield and proceed to attempt to break my drivers side window with his fist, i was too awstruck to even get out of my car. Thank god a rent-a-cop partroling the parking lots came and calmed him down, we exchanged info and went on our ways. Anytime i need a good laugh i just replay that mental video.

back when i fixed computers for people, i had this old dude client who backed his car out into mine and then never told me because he "didn't notice" fucker hit my driver side door so it wouldn't even open, how could you not notice the metal grinding noises???

[100_Percent_Juice]

Close this thread.

[cody]

Bump.

[sperry]

Looks like some local d-bag got off. Anyone know this guy?

http://www.rgj.com/article/20091124/NEWS01/91124029

I guess the fact that he killed his friend in the passenger seat when a drunk driver ran the light in front of the street race he was participating in is enough... but it seems a little light from a legal standpoint to get away with just a reckless driving misdemeanor when two people died.

IMO, both the Subaru driver and dead pickup driver should have both been guilty of manslaughter. Just because the drunk driver ran the light does not excuse the street racer from the fact he was going well over twice the speed limit in a race.

[MPREZIV]

Originally Posted by sperry

Looks like some local d-bag got off. Anyone know this guy?...

Yes, in fact. He used to hang out with some of Chris' friends WAY back in my street racin' days, when I first met Chris. (red integra/white evo chris)

[Kevin M]

The acquittal is pretty weak. I thought Nevada had specific street racing laws on the books that apply outside of anything else.