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Drag Racing Crash Kills 8

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080216/drag_racing_080216/20080216?hub=TopStories

Quote:

A car smashed into a crowd of spectators at an illegal street race in suburban Maryland Saturday, killing eight people and injuring five, police said.

A witness said two cars in the race passed them just before a car without its lights came upon the scene.

"There were just bodies everywhere; it was horrible," said Crystal Gaines, 27.
Her father William Gaines Sr., 61, was among the dead.

"He wasn't breathing, he wasn't moving," she said. "His body was in pieces."
John Courtney identified his brother Mark, 33, as being among the dead after being shown a photo by police.

"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."

One officer said the accident scene is one of the worst he's ever witnessed.

"This is a situation that could have been avoided, and it's a very tragic situation," said Prince George's County Police Cpl. Clinton Copeland.

The accident happened at about 3:40 a.m. local time. A white sedan apparently went out of control, striking people beside the two-lane road. The crime scene extends almost 200 metres.

Police Capt. Donald Frick said the driver didn't suffer any serious injuries, but a passenger is among the dead. Police have interviewed the driver, he said.

Copeland said it isn't known if the sedan's driver was involved in the race.

Several vehicles were also hit. A tractor-trailer that came upon the accident scene may have injured a person while trying to avoid the crash, police said.

The crash happened in Accokeek, about 30 kilometres south of Washington.

Investigators are on the scene trying to figure out what happened. They currently have "more questions than answers," Copeland said.

Terrible... just terrible.

EDIT:

Whoops. I see Neal has already made a thread on it. No matter, though. They've changed the number from 7 to 8.

A problem that goes way back here in Los Angeles to the 1940's. Although in those days there weren't as many people and cars. The height of the problem was in the late 80's and early 90's.........Illegal drag races were a weekend event here. With kids cruising to locate a spot, listening to police radio scanners, meeting, and staging a race.
Problem was these events were not controlled for the safety of the drivers, spectators, or innocent passerbys.
A crackdown ensued, where by a racers car is impounded and crushed, which has effectively curtailed 95% of the illegal races that occurred.
But the real problem IMHO, is that the cities do not do enough to encourage legal drag racing at a drag strip. There it would be sanctioned, regulated, and provide security to whoever wished to watch. It's a way kids can get together and socialize in a public fashion..........
But it seems no one wants to try to solve these issues without just banning everything

We do indeed come to an agreement that the law should encourage drag racing under professional circumstances and under professional watch.