RE: Addicted to the rush of the race
This showed up on the local news web site this a.m.
Driver critically injured in 120 mph street race
06:01 PM PST on Tuesday, January 22, 2008
By RAY LANE / KING 5 News
Driver critically injured in Hwy 167 street race RENTON, Wash. – One man is in critical condition after a high-speed race ended when a car hit a DOT truck on Highway 167 in Renton Monday night, according to the Washington State Patrol.
But the father of one of the young men who is now in jail after the crash says, that's not what happened.
Investigators say the two were street racing around 10 p.m., tearing through a Washington State Department of Transportation construction zone near S. 180th Street. Troopers say both vehicles – a Dodge Neon and a BMW 645 C-I were going more than 120 miles per hour into a lane closure area when the Neon hit the truck.
The driver of the Neon, a 22-year-old, is in critical condition. Troopers say he was left hanging outside the back passenger window.
The DOT truck driver was not hurt. Giant shock absorbers on the back of the truck are designed to handle such collisions.
The BMW driver, a 19-year-old man, is under arrest for investigation of vehicular assault. His father, Thomas Mathew, says both of the drivers are best friends, work together and live only a few miles apart. He says he often told his son to pray before driving and he doesn't believe that his son was street racing.
"No, my son never. He never sped. Never like that," said Mathew.
State troopers say the evidence points otherwise.
"Is it worth it? And that something we have to get to the root of the issue. Why do people feel the need to do this?" said Trooper Cliff Pratt.
The State Patrol says it's eager to hear from other witnesses who saw the crash or the moments before it. The suspect will have his first court appearance Wednesday.
Amazing to think of the parents denial in thinking thier kids would never race.
Also thought it was interesting... Neon vs. BMW.
Hope the kid comes through ok...