Cee eL eS

S.J. man killed when car strickes pole during drag race, police say
A 19-year-old man who police said was racing his Ford Mustang against a BMW on a busy South San Jose street was killed Sunday when he lost control and struck a utility pole.

Daniel Tobin of San Jose was pronounced dead at 2:25 p.m. on Blossom Hill Road, just east of Blossom Avenue, said San Jose police and the Santa Clara County Coroner's Office.

Police were called to the scene about 2:15 p.m., when motorists reported seeing a black 1986 Mustang crushed, and the driver lying on the ground; the impact caused the tall pole to tilt, leaving the utility wires dangling.

Witnesses told police the Mustang was "involved in a speed contest" with a 3002 BMW 330ci westbound on Blossom Hill Road when the Mustang driver lost control and crashed, cutting the car in half. The driver was ejected, plolice said.

The driver of teh BMW, who was not injured, was identified as Kraig Amador of Mountain View. He was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and released pending an investigation, police said.

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From SJ Mercury News.

avengerjr

Damn that sux. Very sad indeed

Who knew that they had the 3002 model BMW's out, I knew they were fast, but damn time travel too


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avengerjr
2001 CL-S Satin Silver / Ebony Interior / Non-Navi[*] spoiler , wheel locks , 20% tint , fenderwell trim[*] mud guards , winter floor mats , full nose mask[*] Xephyr CAI

vuduvida

Ugghhh.. Talk about a sinking feeling. I used to live just a couple miles from that intersection back when I was driving my '89 5.0 exclusively so that one hits close to home. That is an extremely crowded area in the afternoon for a race. Not safe at all. I guess it's good to remind people of the dangers but it sure is depressing to hear...

vuduvida

Here's the link to the actual article:

http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premiu...carfatal16.htm

Dacat

I live very close to that intersection, it's just sad to see kids race and die. Here's another one, just a few days before...
<a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/04/12/MN22878.DTL">Crash</a>

Who's sig line is it here? "Drive on the street, race on the track"...

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01 Silver CL-S, Navi, Spoiler
Retired: 94 540i

[This message has been edited by Dacat (edited 04-17-2001).]

Dacat

This brings up an interesting question, can you really get arrested for causing a death if you were the other racer? I mean, what if you raced with someone who instigated it and lost control on their own?

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01 Silver CL-S, Navi, Spoiler
Retired: 94 540i

eclipse23

Not gonna play like a hypocrite and say I won't race anymore BUT. Why in hell would you race on a street? At least I open her up after 12:00am on a highway or road with barriers, guardrails, and other high speed walls. Man, if your gonna WOT at least do it somewhere as if you accidently wipe out you have at least a fighting chance to survive.

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01' Acura CL Type-S
Piaa 19169 Bulbs
Valentine1 Pig Detector
CompTech Exhaust
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Founding Member of the NO SCRATCHED RIMS CLUB

01'Acura Integra GSR

saabman4ever

I posted a reply using this line of reasoning on another thread but apparently some in the bay area feel it is there God given right to race down busy streets despite the risks.

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I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
General Patton

eric

We all race. And we love to race. But why race on a street, and risk other people's lives? That's just damn selfish.

vuduvida

One totally cold and callous way of looking at those people is that it's Darwin's Theory taking its course... Nah, that's too mean. Unfortunately, they can take several other lives with them in a bad crash.

That Mustang guy must've been salivating a little too much to test out the new Bimmer (or vice-versa) and just threw caution completely to the wind.

I've been to the organized street-races in that area and at least they do it on completely deserted roads late at night.

That BMW guy's life sounds like it's going to be hell for the next few years from fines, lawsuits and possibly jail.

dlp

I have hears of a high conviction raste for racers that are involved ain a racing fatality. The fact that he is in California makes it worse. such a litgious state. THe fact the athe kid that dies was 19 means the family will sue for lost future wages, in other words... yes, the BMW driver can be held partly responsible - no one forced him to race. He was involved in the race, and some on edied becasue of it. He will probably plead guilty to a lesser charge - 2, amybe 3 years probation, probably no jail tim ethough if he has no priors. He will likely be forced to some community service as well. Then, the other driver's family will open the floodgates and sue him.. he has at least a little money if he is racing with a 2001 BMW... almost feel bad for the guy . . almost...

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2001 CL Type S w/ NAV & Spoiler. San Marino Red/Parchment int. Purchased 2/28/01.

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1584587&a=12058921

kensteele

I guess he was indeed arrested, so there's no question there. Can you get convicted? Absolutely.

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* 2001 Acura CL Type S * Blk/Blk * Navigator * Spoiler * Moonroof Visor * V1 *
* Since 3/31/2000 *
* Road Warrior *

EricL

Listen, there are limits. I've been up on the oh-so-famous (or infamous) Mulholland Drive. It has some places where there are no driveways and as long as it isn't speed racer time, a little rub around the corners late night isn't to bad.

On the other hand, I've been up there driving like "Grandma" and at least 3 times had "kids" driving in the opposite lane (MY LANE) around a blind corner.

Look if these kids want to take there own life, then OK (I tend towards social liberalism). But, when I need to slide into the dirt, and have to stop to get the adrenaline out of my system from a near death 4-wheel slide to avoid death maneuver, I think that this brings up a "foolishness quotient." There is really a point where the stuff is so far out of control, that "Kamikaze pilot" comes to mind.

So, moderation in all things. I hope things don't have to be black or white.

Ideally, we would have a ton of Saturday cone racing and a ton of inexpensive tracks.

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Silver 2001 CL-S with NAVI

• Mud guards
• Wheel locks
• Toyo T1S 235/45ZR17-97W* Proxies on 17x8" SSR Competition wheels (48lbs less than stock)
• Kevlar/SS Brake lines ordered
• Comptech headers & sways ready
• Silver AEM CAI ready
• 6 coats of Zaino magic

moomaster_99

I suppose Saabboy was replying to me....oh well, it's unfortunate things like that happen. Life goes on...sorry to be so callous about it, but people make decisions in life and, some, have to suffer consequences. Innocent people do suffer, sometimes, but that is the way of the world. Flame me if you want...it's just my opinion.

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2001 Cl-S Black on Black with Navigation
Black Tint all around (15%~45%)
Weapon-R Dragon Filter
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Jayru

Ohh yeah! For SURE!