In my professional life I am a full time law enforcement officer inthe city I live in. I see many things; deal with many different types of people, the worst of the worst, and the best of the best, including everything in between.
On Friday night 3-9-2007 at approximately 2034 hours (8:34 PM) central standard time a young man (19 years old) was participating in a 1/4 mile drag race with another young man on a secluded 2 lane stretch of road known to the locals as Stanley Blvd, or "The Strip."
About halfway down the road is a slight curve and a wooded area to the left of the roadway separated by a ditch.
The driver was in the inside lane when he lost control of the vehicle and veered off the roadway into the ditch flipping the vehicle end over end several times, ejecting him out of the back windshield into the air where he struck a tree roughly 18 feet above the ground, nearly 30 feet from where the car came to rest, upside down leaning against a tree. As he slid down the tree he struck, it ripped his clothing from his body, leaving his pants at his feet, and his jacket over his head. He landed face down beneath the tree.
I had just gotten off of a previous call, was sitting in the parking lot speaking to a fellow officer, when another came inregarding a male juvenile armed with a gun at the local bowling alley.Both the other officer and I headed that direction, about this time the call came in regarding the wreck. What we hear over the radio was "388 city unit's 10-46 Stanley Blvd, unknown nature."Immediately a knot formed in my stomach...I know what they do on that road...hell I had done it myself.
I confirm to the dispatcher that I am en-route and initiate my emergency equipment. Takes me roughly 2 minutes to get across town to Stanley Blvd where I turn off my siren and began sweeping the area with my spotlight looking for signs of an accident. About halfway down the road I observe a large group of teens on the left side of the road in a parking lot. I stop my patrol car grab my flash light and jump out...I run over to the group of kids and they began yelling and pulling on my arms, pointing across the street...where I see several more teenagers amidst a large cloud of dust. I rush across the street hop the ditch and finally am able to see the car...I look to my right and see 3 males hunkered down over something...it looked as though they were trying to pick up or move whatever it was...instinct tells me that these kids are trying to move the driver...however I don’t have a clue just yet what it is they are doing. I run over and see them and him (the driver)and pull them away, telling them not to touch him.
All it took was one look at the BACK of this guys head, and the mangled mess of his car to know who he was. I had dealt with him several times...drag racing, speeding, reckless endangerment. Hell the previous Friday night he about hit my wife and I on a main stretch of road, and the following Monday I spoke to him in Wal-Mart telling him to watch it, or he was going to end up hurting someone.
He lay face down, gurgling and kind of moaning, his arms were moving a small amount so I placed 2 fingers on his wrist, hoping to find a pulse, which I did. The kind that is sporadic, the kind you only find after someone has passed and their organs are fluctuating due to the electrical impulse’s still bouncing around in the body. It left…came back and left for good. As he lay there under that tree, more than half naked, twitching…all I could think about was how young this guy was…how tore up his mother would be when she was informed that her baby had died…how his siblings would be angry…how the teen’s who witnessed it would be scarred…
EMS units arrived minutes later, as they were stuck in traffic as usual. (For the love of god people, if you see an ambulance coming with lights and sirens, MOVE out of the way. You may be helping save someone’s life.) They braced his neck, rolled him over and proceeded to do CPR… when the EMT placed his hands on the chest of this young man and applied pressure the sound was horrible. A bone crunching cracking, crushing sound…followed by a bit of brain matter gushing out of the boys nose. The internal organs and most of the bones protecting his chest cavity had been destroyed by the impact with either the tree or something prior. The EMT stopped immediately with a grim look on his face, he looked up and said “We are going to have to call it right here.”
Witnesses stated that the guy he was racing had been trying to get him to race all night long calling him a “Pussy” and “Candy Ass.” They told police that they raced one time prior to the fatal wreck and just before they lined up to run again…5 passengers got out of the car that I speak of. If they hadn’t of gotten out, there would have been 6 bodies instead of just 1.
The vehicle that wrecked was a 97 Pontiac Grand Prix, the car he was racing was 95 Lincoln Town Car.
I have included a picture from the newspaper, and I may post more as the investigation comes to a close, however at this time I must wait.
Here is where the story is located on the local newspaper website
http://www.t-g.com/story/1193185.html
For the love of god guys, this past weekend was a cold reminder of the harsh realities of speed. If you are going to race, use common sense… wear your seatbelt…and preferably do it on a certified track.
I grow tired of seeing people hurt killed maimed…over stupidity.
Yes I have a civic, yes I have drag raced, yes I am guilty just like everyone else. Just thought I would share this with you, maybe help save a life sometime down the road.
[IMG]local://upfiles/9790/A182CBCCDF614B1B9789A73D1F593748.jpg[/IMG]
Grand Prix VS Lincoln=fatality
