Street-race crash kills 7 in crowd

Schuyler Colfax · Post by **Schuyler Colfax** » 2008-02-16 10:28am

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/16/drag.r ... ap/index.h

ACCOKEEK, Maryland (AP) -- Seven people were killed early Saturday when a car plowed into people apparently gathered to watch a street race on a suburban two-lane road, police said.

The car went out of control on Route 210 around 3:40 a.m. and slammed into the crowd standing on the roadside, Prince George's County Police Cpl. Clinton Copeland said.

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.

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.

Investigators were working to piece together the chain of events and had "more questions than answers," Copeland said.

Soontir C'boath · Post by **Soontir C'boath** » 2008-02-16 10:32am

Street race with people watching said race getting killed? There's a reason concrete walls are placed around race tracks, dumb asses.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2008-02-16 10:38am

Good riddance. The world is better off with a few less street racers in it.

tim31 · Post by **tim31** » 2008-02-16 11:31am

Hear hear. It is a lot more fun and a lot safer, and really not that expensive(in this case, infinitely less) to go to a club organized track or drag day at a proper venue.

Post by **K. A. Pital** » 2008-02-16 12:16pm

So streetracers once again prove they're a deadly waste of human tissue.

I mean, "wow". Amazed. Shaken. From the ground up.

I'd summarily arrest those who race and those who attend those races, later figuring out who's who. Streetracing should have the same legal penalties as drunk driving.

On a side note, I'm perhaps wasting society's resources on saving wannabe kamikazes. Can't tell as of yet whether I'd really support wasting police funds to save lawbreakers from a suicidal hobby.

KlavoHunter · Post by **KlavoHunter** » 2008-02-16 12:21pm

That's nothing compared to some of the crazy crowd-massacre'ing crashes that happen at street races in Saudi Arabia.

Tanasinn · Post by **Tanasinn** » 2008-02-16 01:21pm

Your link's borked, just to warn to; it's missing the "tml".

I don't know if I can truly laugh at people dying, even morons, but hey: if you live stupidly, you're probably going to die stupidly.

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2008-02-16 01:31pm

Oh well. Too bad. (Not) So sad.

tim31
Yeah, but Tim, you can't do it in the dark, with booze and on coming traffic. Where is the fun in that?

Schuyler Colfax · Post by **Schuyler Colfax** » 2008-02-16 02:53pm

Tanasinn wrote:Your link's borked, just to warn to; it's missing the "tml".

I don't know if I can truly laugh at people dying, even morons, but hey: if you live stupidly, you're probably going to die stupidly.

Thanks

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/02/16/drag.r ... index.html

I have mild sympathy for the victims even if they were idiots.

Illuminatus Primus · Post by **Illuminatus Primus** » 2008-02-16 02:56pm

What Mike said. Darwin Award, both spectators and drivers. I did some stupid reckless shit when I was younger. But I never participated in or watched street racing because it the hobgobblin of trailer trash and idiots. Everyone associated just screamed "I am going to community college at best." Fuck that.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-02-16 03:41pm

Hm, the last thing I would do if attending a street race would be to stand anywhere near the street. But I wouldn't be near a street race in the first place.

This reminds me of those legal rally car races where spectators are dangerously close to the cars and aren't behind any kind of protective barriers.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-02-16 03:45pm

And this is legal. Madness.

Sturmfalke · Post by **Sturmfalke** » 2008-02-16 04:10pm

According to the New York Times, eight people have been killed. The car driving into the crowd also was not participating in the race:

New York Times wrote:ACCOKEEK, Md. (AP) -- A car plowed into a crowd that had gathered to watch a drag race on a suburban road early Saturday, killing eight people and injuring at least five, police said.

Police said the white sedan was not involved in the street race but accidentally drove into the crowd of about 50 people that had spilled onto the highway to watch two racing cars speed off.

''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.'' Gaines said the car did not have its lights on, but police could not confirm that.

The 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. 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.''

The victims ranged in age from their 20s to 60s, police said. Seven people were pronounced dead at the scene, and an eighth died later at a hospital.

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, Police Capt. Donald Frick said. Police said a body found in the car was one of the spectators and not a passenger as they had previously reported.

According to police, two cars had lined up for a race on the smooth and relatively flat and straight stretch of highway. They spun their wheels, kicking up smoke, then sped off, Copeland said. The crowd then moved into the road to watch the cars drive away. The combination of the smoke and the dark morning likely meant the driver of the approaching white sedan could not see the crowd. No charges were pending.

Authorities were looking for the drivers of the two cars involved in the race.

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.

Frick said it's common in the summer for police to deal with reports of motorcycles racing on the highway, which is relatively smooth with long straightaways, but he said they have not had as much of an issue with cars.

It's really unbelievable how stupid people can be. Yet apparently the people watching the race aren't blamed for their reckless behaviour.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-02-16 04:18pm

So this happened at 3:40 AM, right?

''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.'' Gaines said the car did not have its lights on, but police could not confirm that.

Whatnafuk kind of parent takes a child to see such a thing at that time of day? I mean, how many kinds of stupid are at play here?

Darth Mall · Post by **Darth Mall** » 2008-02-16 04:25pm

FSTargetDrone wrote:And this is legal. Madness.

Things like that are why most major manufacturers have pulled out of rallying.

It's a shame it was so dangerous because they came up with some amazing cars for rallys. Now rallys are done on closed courses, usually with barriers, for the most part, but the old big names haven't really gone back to it.

But I never understood street racing. Go to a track, unless you live in the middle of no where there should be one within an hour or so and most of them always have clubs on the weekends who will let you drive for 25-30 bucks. Of course then you would have to spend money on getting safe upgrades and making your car track ready, and we can't have that from shoestring ricers

Sturmfalke · Post by **Sturmfalke** » 2008-02-16 04:30pm

FSTargetDrone wrote:Whatnafuk kind of parent takes a child to see such a thing at that time of day? I mean, how many kinds of stupid are at play here?

Apparently they considered it to be an event for the entire family...

But honestly, in the entire article: Not a word about the fact that the behaviour of the people watching the race was grossly negligent. At least they don't blame the driver of the car that hit the crowd. Tha article also doesn't say whether this street racing is legal or not - I assume it is indeed illegal?

Havok · Post by **Havok** » 2008-02-16 04:32pm

Wait, so a group of 50 people just happened to be on the side of a freeway to watch this "spontaneous" race? That sounds fishy. And so the stupidity in this story just gets better... the whole crowd just moved out onto a public highway? Did their mob mentality make them think they were at the track?

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-02-16 04:37pm

Sturmfalke wrote:But honestly, in the entire article: Not a word about the fact that the behaviour of the people watching the race was grossly negligent. At least they don't blame the driver of the car that hit the crowd. Tha article also doesn't say whether this street racing is legal or not - I assume it is indeed illegal?

Seriously, once, just once, I want to hear an official go on TV, have a press conference and flatly say: "If not for the downright stupid behavior demonstrated by all in attendance, this never would have turned into such a tragic and needlessly wasteful situation. Let this be an example to anyone else considering such foolishness."

My dad took me to a drag race years ago, but it was at a track, with safety barriers and the racers were well isolated from the spectators. We were up in some bleachers and well away from any potential problems.

I don't have kids, I don't know anything about raising kids, but I do know that I wouldn't take a child out to a street race in the middle of the night.

Illuminatus Primus wrote:Everyone associated just screamed "I am going to community college at best." Fuck that.

Ha, I think you given them too much credit. I'd be surprised if there was a elementary school graduate among them.

aerius · Post by **aerius** » 2008-02-16 04:39pm

Street racing kills a bunch of people and for once there aren't any innocent victims. Hooray for stupid dead people. Hand out the Darwin Awards and call it a day.

Meest · Post by **Meest** » 2008-02-16 05:46pm

I'm also confused with the 61 year old dead father, what the hell was he doing out there? Guess these people don't think that nightshift workers need to get home too. The whole thing sounds weird from all angles, can't blame the driver for driving through smoke and a crowd of people but at the same time I'm thinking what the hell are you doing driving through a cloud of tire smoke. They said stop lights every 200 yards it can't be that dark even without street lamps away from the intersection lights. I keep picturing some type of Dukes of Hazzard type event where the local boys race the evil out of towners or something, stupid on all fronts.

Meest · Post by **Meest** » 2008-02-16 05:49pm

Quick edit: After seeing the article you can almost make out power poles or lights pretty close to the scene, it doesn't look that desolate but there are curves.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-02-16 06:38pm

Meest wrote:I'm also confused with the 61 year old dead father, what the hell was he doing out there? Guess these people don't think that nightshift workers need to get home too. The whole thing sounds weird from all angles, can't blame the driver for driving through smoke and a crowd of people but at the same time I'm thinking what the hell are you doing driving through a cloud of tire smoke. They said stop lights every 200 yards it can't be that dark even without street lamps away from the intersection lights. I keep picturing some type of Dukes of Hazzard type event where the local boys race the evil out of towners or something, stupid on all fronts.

You can blame all of the drivers, whether there was smoke or not. These hicks or slack-jawed, brain-dead types who participate aren't worried about crowd safety. If they were, there would have been no race in the first place.

The drivers are at fault for participating, and all of the spectators who went there of their own volition are to blame for putting themselves in such a dangerous situation. If anyone is blameless, it's any kids who were dragged there by idiot adults.

Sturmfalke · Post by **Sturmfalke** » 2008-02-16 08:18pm

FSTargetDrone wrote:You can blame all of the drivers, whether there was smoke or not. These hicks or slack-jawed, brain-dead types who participate aren't worried about crowd safety. If they were, there would have been no race in the first place.

The driver who drove into the crowd did not participate in the race. Due to the cloud of smoke he was unaware that there was a crowd of idiots on the street - at that time of the day.

FSTargetDrone · Post by **FSTargetDrone** » 2008-02-16 08:21pm

Sturmfalke wrote:
FSTargetDrone wrote:You can blame all of the drivers, whether there was smoke or not. These hicks or slack-jawed, brain-dead types who participate aren't worried about crowd safety. If they were, there would have been no race in the first place.
The driver who drove into the crowd did not participate in the race. Due to the cloud of smoke he was unaware that there was a crowd of idiots on the street - at that time of the day.

Whoops, must have missed that while I was ranting.

Thanks for the clarification.

Soontir C'boath · Post by **Soontir C'boath** » 2008-02-16 08:28pm

Wow, so it wasn't the car going out of control, but idiots standing on the road. Jesus shit, they must've thought that since it was about 0400, that no other vehicles would be traveling through there which is just fucking stupid. Even a tractor trailer passed by and may have hit someone.

If that tractor trailer hit the crowd instead of the car, it'd be fucking worse.