joeyr

He posted on the BMW M5 forum — www.M5board.com — as "AmericanM5," the proud new owner of a 2008 BMW M5 painted Space Gray.

He had a problem. It happened when he had "everything set to max" and changed gear with the shift paddles mounted on the steering wheel. As he said, "and I'm going pedal to the metal pushing 140 and upshifting, there tends to be a thud noise with the gear change." AmericanM5 wanted to know if this was normal.

And he added: "Let me say I am a beginner when it comes to high-performance cars as I am only 18, so take it easy on me."

Reality Check

The forum members told him that yes, the sensation of an abrupt gear engagement is normal with the M5's automated sequential manual transmission, but several also took the opportunity to express their concerns.

Wrote one: "It's just disturbing to know...that an 18-year-old who is asking these questions about a 500-horsepower car is driving the same streets I am. I don't have anything against young guys driving nice cars, but an 18-year-old being [behind] the wheel of an M5 is what accidents are made of."

AmericanM5 responded: "I completely understand where you are coming from, assuming that I am irresponsible...that is definitely understandable. I do sometimes make bad decisions but I am young and I do drive safe and I will not endanger the lives of others."

These posts were dated January 25, 2008.

Space Gray

At 3:30 a.m. on January 26, a 2008 BMW M5 painted Space Gray flew off the raised end of a runway at a private airport just outside Ocala, Florida, sailed 200 feet through the air and stuck a huge tree. The impact with the tree occurred 15 feet off the ground. Five young men, aged 18 to 20, were killed instantly.

Members of the M5Board began to put the pieces together. AmericanM5 said he was 18, had a 2008 M5 in Space Gray, and said he lived in the Ocala area. And he signed one of the posts, "Josh."

The driver of the crashed M5 had been Josh Ammirato.

Experience Counts
Apparently AmericanM5 had not been entirely truthful in his postings. The M5 belonged not to him, but instead to his father.

When members of the M5board forum had made this suggestion online, AmericanM5 bristled: "It's mine, buddy. I just traded in my 335i and paid the difference."

Another member suggested that AmericanM5's lack of knowledge about the BMW M5's transmission could be easily explained: "Maybe your two years' driving experience in your whole life is the problem."

AmericanM5 responded: "That could be a good assumption but the fact I never drive a manual car before may be true, but I've been driving for a lot longer than two years, buddy."

Reports indicate that Ammirato had received four traffic citations in the last two years.

Is This for Real?

The crash occurred at the Greystone Airport, which is bordered on one side by Jumbolair Estates, a fly-in community where actor and pilot John Travolta lives; he filed a suit in 2007 to compel the owners to allow him to land his Boeing 707 on the strip.

The fly-in community was built by the late Arthur Jones, inventor of Nautilus exercise equipment. The airstrip is 7,550 feet (1.5 miles) long and is 210 feet wide. Apparently it can be accessed through an unguarded gate.

The five occupants of the M5 had attended a basketball game, and then a party where they were celebrating the 19th birthday of Dustin "Smiley" Dawe, one of the men killed.

The Florida Highway Patrol reported that there was evidence of skid marks at the end of the runway, indicating the car had turned sideways before crossing a sloped embankment and sailing through the air and into the tree. Alcohol does not appear to have been involved. The accident made headlines in the Ocala Star-Banner.

A Final Word

The final exchange between AmericanM5 and the rest of the forum members came late on January 25.

So

1 Bad Mirada

ive been discussing this at other forums since it happened. many parents are too quick to hand their kids the keys to their high performance cars, with no consideration of repercussions.

this kid, in less than two years of driving, had several speeding tickets, a ticket for driving without a license, etc...and the parents never thought that maybe he shouldnt be driving a 500hp M5? this is a failure on the part of the parents, and i refuse to get upset about these types of stories. these drunk kids like the ones here, or nick hogan, get chance after chance to continue screwing up, risking the lives of others.

now the parents, who didnt bother to take the keys to the 500hp M5 even after the kid proved that he wasnt responsible enough to drive that car, are going after anyone that they can, blaming everyone but themselves.

i learned to handle and respect powerful cars, but thats not a common occurance anymore, as these poor little rich kids are thrown into high performance cars, and were supposed to feel bad when they kill themselves? negative.

these kids werent killed while driving home from the library. they were drunk, out screwing around in a high performance car. the driver INTENDED to do try the stunt...he planned ahead. that makes it premeditated and deliberate. that makes him not a victim, but a murderer.

BootCamp

I recall a post in this forum in June of 2007 by Frankie Nelson (SkillzDatKillz), a 15 year old "hopeful 2008 Challenger owner". https://dodgechallenger.com/forums/m_13269/tm.htm
I remember a number of us getting a rash of **** from other members in this forum for warning him about the dangers of putting an inexperienced driver with surging hormone levels (such as himself) behind the wheel of a powerful car. A number of us stated that the only thing worse than putting a young man with little (if any) driving experience behind the wheel of a hi-po car could only be if alcohol was added to the mix of inexperience, hormones, a false sense of competance, and an extremely powerful vehicle. His response was similar to what's been written above from AmericanM5.
While I am not a "seer" such as Michael de Nostradamus has been credited with being, the scenario is eerily similar. I cannot state with certainty that Frankie would make the same fatal decisions that Josh Ammirato made, but I would not be able to sleep well knowing now what happened had I made statements such as the one from the member in Queensland, AU, and NOT given warnings such as many of us in fact DID give to Frankie in mid 2007.

A friend of my son's was known to perform "driving stunts" on snow-covered rural roads several years back - with his friends in the car. He felt comfortable bragging about his "displays of driving expertise" in front of his friends - until he did it in front of me as well. I made sure I had his attention - AND that of his friends. I told him;
"If you want to chance your life, that's your choice. BUT if you decide to do something stupid with MY son in your car, and ANYTHING happens to him that renders him crippled or dead, rest assured you'll see my face every day that you live! I'll remind you EVERY DAY you're alive that in a few seconds of stupidity, you changed or shortened the life of another person - whose only poor decision was to trust you to make good ones when you were behind the wheel. You think long and hard about seeing my face in yours EVERY DAY BEFORE you play Joey Chitwood with ANYONE in your car again!" Have you ever heard the phrase, "....the fear of God in his eyes"? I haven't seen that kid since that day. I hope he chewed on that for a long time.......

Thanks for posting this, joeyr.
I'm off my soapbox now.

Yankee

Seems like in today's society, more than ever, parents want to be "cool" to their kids. And many do so by giving their kids high-powered sports cars, which IMHO is equivalent to giving them a loaded gun with no safety mechanism.

When I got my license, like any other kid I wanted a Z28 or a Trans Am. Would my parents have let me? Hell NO! Even if I had the money they would have nixed the idea REAL quick. Sure I thought they were being overtly square, but I realize now that's a decision I'd make if I ever had a child of driving age. I ended up with a Slant 6 1970 Dodge Dart. And even with that car I tempted fate many a time, I now shudder to imagine as to what could have happened.

I hope well-to-do parents read and heed this. Granted a kid can just as easily be killed in a Ford Focus as a BMW M5... but at least with a Focus it's a safe bet he won't be hitting a tree at Mach 2 and killing himself and/or others.

DSkippy

Amen, Yankee. I had a 80 VW truck w/ all of 70hp in it, and was lucky to survive my formative driving years in it.

Parent first, friend second. That's the problem w/ society, everyone some how forgot this, and spoiled little anti-social hellions are turning into adult versions.

lear4406

My yougest sons first car was a Dodge Stealth. Yeah at first you say that its a sports car and thats what I used to talk him into it. It was a base Stealth with the SOHC 173 HP model. Drivers air bag with 4 wheel Anti-lock brakes. He still has this car today and to look at it it looks fast. Its black with 2 wide racing stripes running down the legnth of the car. He got the looks of a fast car but I liked the lower HP and the safety features. He has moved on since those days to a Eclpse GST and now a 350Z. He learned to drive in slower cars and now has worked his way up to better handling and more HP. He has never recieved any points against his license and I would like to say that its because he learned to drive correctly. I tried to give him something that allowed the apperance of fast without the grunt. Don't get me wrong it was quite capable of fast speeds no doubt, but it did not posess the HP to unleash it at one time. If you take most any car they will all go over 100 mph, but you give the inexperienced driver all the safety advantages you can and you monitor them closely to take those priveleges away as deamed. And pray and pray some more. You wait until they have the skill and maturity to drive as they should and then you still pray I also feel the parents let this situation progress and like a train wreck it was bound to happen. I hate it but I hope someone some where will see this and stop long enough to think it out.

joeyr

Bootcamp, your thoughts kind of mirror mine. I was thinking about the same person when I read this. I am pretty young guy, I’ll be 21 this year god willing; but when I look at the way I drive compared to so many of those younger people, and they seem to drive like they are invincible. And now it’s not only horsepower we have to worry about but size as well. In my area young guys and girls get big vehicles, when mixed without experience. I’ll never forget on my way home to school. This guy had a raised truck with off road tires; he ended up running over a car like he was in a monster truck rally. They had to get the Jaws of Life to get her out.

My parents would even think about getting me anything like this rather they or I had the money for it either. In fact my parents withheld me from getting a license to I was nearly 18; and while it was a little extreme looking back on it was a blessing. The peer pressure of doing things stupid were long gone by then I had a chance to mature personally.

1 Bad Mirada I sorta agree with your assessment, Parents were being cool instead of being responsible. I would expect a child to act like this in that situation. But I feel sorry that the parents most likely were trying to be cool, and it cost these kids their lives. I would expect this from children. But I would hate to be in the parents shoes. Four other kids are gone. Four sets parents lost a child, some of which may not have know what he was planning until it was too late.

MGDMike

Oh jeez.. I'm not sorry one bit. Sorry buts that my opinion.

BootCamp

I'm confused, Bud. What are you not sorry about?

tdub2112

i'm taking the vette or cuda over 85, unless my dads in the passenegers seat.
I think what MGDMike was trying to say was the kid was stupid and shouldn't be in a BMW anyway. Right?