The most sobering thread in the world

[Spirit's Son]

similar thread happened on a forum I used to frequent:

http://www.3.8mustang.com/forum/showthread.php?t=161699
another thread on the same incident:
http://www.lamustangclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7130&page=1&pp=25

both stories are very sad. in the end, there is one unifying message: drive safe, and dont put others in danger.

 

[AlohaGT]

Rest In Peace.

 

[Fast Freddy]

here in arizona i live in a residential fly-in community similar to the one in Florida where this accident happened. our runway is 4400 feet long and one night i was working in my hangar and heard this BIG crash. it was some teenage kids that did not live in the airpark who got onto the runway and rolled there car at the end of it onto one of my neighbors property. luckily nobody died or was seriously hurt. i think that out our airpark and others need to put more preventative measures in place to prevent this from happening. if you want to race on a runway take it to the texas mile. thats where i will be taking my viper this march.

 

[Fast Freddy]

What's truely ironic here is the fact that these boys did the speed run on a private airport runway - not on a public street or highway. So, they obviously must have been thinking (and with some justification) it'd be pretty "safe".

But, from the look of things, they either didn't check beforehand to see exactly where the runway ended, or they didn't somehow "mark" the point at which they'd have to brake ... or both. (And maybe they never even thought of doing either...)

from what i understand they made several runs on the runway before the crash occured. the driver made alot of bad decisions that led to his death and others. specifically as it pertains to the incident itself he did this at night which severly limited his ability to see farther than his headlights which at speeds above 100 mph don't work so well as we all know. he had made several runs so his brakes were warmed up but with the additional weight of 4 passengers in the car i bet his brakes either glazed or faded over his last run which was more than likely his fastest run and this kept him from getting stopped in time. what is interesting to note though is that there were skid marks up to the point where he went off the runway. a BMW M5 has antilock brakes so maybe his brakes failed and they locked up? although it might be that right before he got to the end of the runway he turned the wheel and the car went into a skid and thus the reason for the skid marks. i have not seen the skid marks and have only read about them so i can't pass judgement. either way its nobody elses fault but his own and i feel that you can't blaim anybody else for this tradgedy but him as result of him being 18. now if he was 17 or younger than his parents might be held criminally accountable in a court of law. that said i bet the passengers parents sue the drivers father for negligent homicide. sure the airpark could have done more to prevent this but at the end of the day if a base jumper wants to jump off buildings and bridges he will find a way. so you can only do so much.

 

[DoctorV8]

although it might be that right before he got to the end of the runway he turned the wheel and the car went into a skid and thus the reason for the skid marks. i

Probably the case. And in order to get the SMG into the fastest shift mode (S6), the stability control has to be shut off, which would make such a skid possible.

 

[Carnut]

What ever the reason, it is sad. I read the posts the kid posted, seemed like a nice kid from his tone.