Author Topic: More dead kids, driving too fast. (Read 780 times)

powderman · « **on:** February 17, 2012, 06:46:40 AM »

High school student killed in car crash; 3 others injured by Maggie Ruper WHAS11.com Posted on February 17, 2012 at 12:18 AM
Updated yesterday at 12:24 AM Gallery See all 12 photos » HARRISON CO., Ind. (WHAS11 ) — A South Central High School student was killed Thursday afternoon after a Honda crashed on State Road 11 near O'Bannon Road in Elizabeth, Indiana.
Four students were in the car at the time; one sophomore, two juniors and one senior student. A male junior passenger didn’t survive, according to Harrison County Police.
The driver of the car lost control and hit a tree just after school was dismissed. A passing bus driver called 911.
“It sounded like an explosion. It was loud,” said eyewitness Kimberley Sutherland.
Two of the injured students were flown by medical helicopter to University Hospital in Louisville. A third student was transported by ambulance, according to police.
Police said they believe speed was a likely factor.
“When he came around the corner you could hear the acceleration and then next thing I know he just hit the tree,” said Sutherland.
Superintendent Neyland Clark told WHAS11’s Maggie Ruper that grief counselors would be at the school Friday.
“They're good kids. Obviously it’s a shock to our school and to our community at South Central and thoughts and prayers go out to those families," said Clark.

This is what I was talking about on another thread. NO REASON for kids to be driving to school unless they are working or have a drs appt. RIDE THE BUS. POWDERMAN.

powderman · « **Reply #1 on:** February 17, 2012, 07:00:54 AM »

http://www.wave3.com/story/16956206/new-details-released-about-deadly-crash-that-killed-2-spencer-county-teens

Another one. Driving too fast and drugs. Sad. POWDERMAN.

Old Fart · « **Reply #2 on:** February 17, 2012, 08:00:49 AM »

I feel for the families involved with this.

But the roads are just getting more and more crowded.
Much more unforgiving out there.

You know I always rode the bus.
Saved my gas and money for chasing girls.
Must've been a good idea because I caught one.

guzzijohn · « **Reply #3 on:** February 17, 2012, 08:26:51 AM »

By the grace of God........that I am still alive. When I was a senior in high school my father at 69 years of age bought a 68 SS396 El Cameno (350hp but only drum brakes). He was quite generous in letting me drive it. It is only by the grace of God that vehicle didn't kill me or someone else or land me in jail. Boy, was it fun though!
GuzziJohn

williamlayton · « **Reply #4 on:** February 17, 2012, 10:30:27 AM »

Every class has their heartachs from loosing classmates to something. I lost 5 one night when they turned in front of a tank truck.
Another when he fell on his shotgun----another when he was killed duck hunting--one on a motorcycle.
Always something.
Blessings

BUGEYE · « **Reply #5 on:** February 17, 2012, 10:38:48 AM »

the atlanta metro area has lost at least 20 in the last couple of years. sometimes it's drugs but usually it's alcohol combined with speed.

Stillkickin · « **Reply #6 on:** February 17, 2012, 10:41:48 AM »

You people of child bearing/rearing age: Do NOT raise your children to be good kids. It does not pay. Every time I hear about a car crash with a juvenile fatality, everybody says what a good kid he/she was. Apparently, only the good kids die in car crashes. I have never, I mean never, heard anybody say of a crash victim, "Aw, he was a troublemaker anyhow." It's always what a "good kid" he was. Don't raise your kids to be car crash statistics. Let them be troublemakers.

Of course I'm being facetious. But only to make a legitimate point, that people lose all sense of judgement in such matters. Wouldn't it be refreshing to someday hear said, "The drunken little twit has been asking for it for a long time. He finally got what he deserved. It's just a good thing he didn't take anybody else out with him?" Sometimes natural selection really does work.

BUGEYE · « **Reply #7 on:** February 17, 2012, 10:51:27 AM »

some of those kids may be trouble makers, but it's sad when they don't get to grow up and become good adults. it's their parents that I pray for.

powderman · « **Reply #8 on:** February 17, 2012, 04:40:13 PM »

A couple of girls were killed here a few years back. The 16 yr old had her license for a week, driving a new car Daddy bought her for her bday, 1 st out with her car. Drove thru a stop sign, she and her 15 yr old friend drt. In another wreck 15 and 16 yr old boys, 3 am, school night, driving too fast, missed a curve, hit tree, car broken in 1/2 with 50 yds between the 2 parts. One dead was so messed up his parents misidentified him, other 1 in hospitol. At the funeral the gma looked at him and said, thats not Billy, it wasn't. Their son was in the hospitol, the family in the hospitol was caring for what they thought was their son when in reality he was dead. Kids today are not as mature as in my day and too many more distractions, cells, etc. Unless they have a job or legitimate reason, NO KIDS should be driving to school, ride the bus, it certainly didn't do me any harm. Another thing is I think legal driving age should be moved up, maybe to 18 yrs of age or not til graduating from school, that might even be a good incentive to study and stay in school. I'm reall sick of seeing these kids die needlessly. POWDERMAN.

williamlayton · « **Reply #9 on:** February 17, 2012, 11:49:29 PM »

I am going to take a different side on this Powderman.
I understand your desire--and I appreciate it.
I think it is illogical to come to the point in life when you think things can be prevented. We all take risk, everyday.
Kids are at risk because they have not learned--they in fact are learning.
Toddlers die every year in commodes, hot tubs and pools an they are sons and daugthers of caring parents.
At what age should a person be to start learning how to drive? I contend that there are some that should never learn---but who am I to dtermine that?
Kids have to grow up--with that comes the chance of dying, in many ways.
Life is not guarenteed but dying is.
Blessings

guzzijohn · « **Reply #10 on:** February 18, 2012, 03:19:14 AM »

I also think that we and kids take vehicle safety too much for granted. In glider flying you can be a fully licensed pilot at 16 years old. Over the years we have had quite a few teens get licensed in our club and I have yet to see one of them do something stupid in a glider. I have observed long time middle aged pilots do stupid things however. Why the difference? Familiarity? Not as easy for peers to see you show off? Don't know really. The contrast is interesting.
GuzziJohn

blind ear · « **Reply #11 on:** February 18, 2012, 02:33:12 PM »

Alcohol, testosterone, gasoline and adrenalin, the deadliest chemical mix available to our youth.

Hello, my name is blind ear and I am a surviving adrenalin freak.

Plymouth 440 GTX

I am so glad that I didn't kill anyone. ear

Hooker · « **Reply #12 on:** February 18, 2012, 04:13:22 PM »

I've work more of those type of wrecks than I can count.
Last week we had a group of school kids visit our impound yard. We've had a lot of bad wrecks over the last few months.
The kids got to see some really bad stuff, vehicles from fatality accidents. One vehicle torn completely in half. Not by a train or truck but from a side impact from a mini van. We explained to the kids how frail vehicles are at speed. Hope some of it soaked in.

Pat

Sourdough · « **Reply #13 on:** February 18, 2012, 04:36:28 PM »

Brings back the slide shows they showed us during high school, 50 years ago, of young drivers and car crashes. Drugs, drinking, and speed. Things are no different today, just more kids doing the same thing.

powderman · « **Reply #14 on:** February 18, 2012, 05:02:32 PM »

Quote from: Sourdough on February 18, 2012, 04:36:28 PM

Brings back the slide shows they showed us during high school, 50 years ago, of young drivers and car crashes. Drugs, drinking, and speed. Things are no different today, just more kids doing the same thing.

SOURDOUGH. YEP, I remember those films. Made a big impression on me and pretty well everybody. Some were very graphic and bloody. I doubt they show those today, might offend somebody. POWDERMAN.

Sourdough · « **Reply #15 on:** February 18, 2012, 05:31:48 PM »

Powderman: Nope, Sky saw them when he was in high school. Updated, but still graphic.

BUGEYE · « **Reply #16 on:** February 19, 2012, 12:32:59 AM »

In two of the instances here, the kids had left a party where alcohol was provided by an adult.
parents trying to be buddies with their kids.......

DDZ · « **Reply #17 on:** February 19, 2012, 01:15:27 AM »

Quote from: blind ear on February 18, 2012, 02:33:12 PM

Alcohol, testosterone, gasoline and adrenalin, the deadliest chemical mix available to our youth.

Hello, my name is blind ear and I am a surviving adrenalin freak.

Plymouth 440 GTX

I am so glad that I didn't kill anyone. ear

Ear, I also am a surviving adrenalin freak. My fix was a 70 roadrunner 383. I really did some stupid things in that car. I remember not being afraid of high speeds if I was behind the wheel, but riding passenger in a friends hopped up muscle car, I was petrified. It was like, I know what I'm doing, nothing can happen to me, but my buddy was going to kill us.

Do you still have your GTX? I always loved the Plymouth muscle car body styles. I had to sell the Roadrunner. Being married with a son just didn't mix with that kind of car.

williamlayton · « **Reply #18 on:** February 19, 2012, 01:50:40 AM »

I think the whole point of the conversation is kids have no common sense, they have not lived to gain experience, they have no concept of reality, they think that life is fun, they think that they are 10 feet tall and bullet proof and they think that it will never happen to them.
It takes years of experience for most to come to some sense of reality---then when they are 70 years old they loose it.
Blessings

LONGTOM · « **Reply #19 on:** February 19, 2012, 02:16:21 AM »

Back in my day of the mid 70s to mid 80s I was what you might call the one to ride with. Between myself and maybe two other boys we were the best drivers in our town. I don't mean nice, law abiding drivers. I mean hell on wheels. We were the best. I could have made a great shine runner had I been around when that was famous. The difference was we practiced. I mean every night we were out on the back roads pushing it past the limit in order to gain the skills we needed to be able to drive that way. Just like shooting long range, you don't get good by only doing it once in a while. You have to do it almost everyday and we did. In fact, the police departments sent out notices to all the officers that said, ("If you have one of these boys out on any number of different roads, which they had named, it said don't try to catch them. Sure you may be able to out run them but they will out drive you. Those are their roads and they know them and run them all the time. YOU DON'T!") We can always get them later. I was the one they never got. Sure they pulled me a few times but they could never prove it was me that had done something. Just lucky I know. Now, It has been so long since I have been on some of those roads that I don't even remember them and I sure don't practice high speed anymore so I wouldn't even think of trying the things I use to do nightly. Those days are gone forever. Great memories. I was once the king and everyone knew it. Of course the vehicles were made of steel back then. Not near the plastic we now have in the new ones, but the new ones do have air bags which could have saved many of the kids of the past. Heck, my rides didn't even have seat belts. Like someone else said, kids now days don't have the experience we had back then. I was driving when I was 8 on the farm and back roads. You don't need a license to drive a farm truck so marked. My first road trip in a farm truck was my Grandfather's 1958 1&1/2 ton cattle truck with farm use on the door. Drove it all the time. Starter button on the floor with a 4 speed. I had to stand up to push the clutch in. I prefered a truck but did have a few hot cars. A 68 Chevy Caprice with a 455 Stage 1 Buick motor that was built and the front end had been lowered to handle to back road turns. A 70 Buick LeSaber, also with a Stage 1 in it. Bone stock, 13.80s in the quarter. Not bad for a stock 4000# boat!!! Things were just different back then. I didn't drink. To me that is the main killer now days and always was. They want to stop me from smoking, fine, but stop others from drinking. In fact, I wish they would ban both of them. How many wrecks have been caused from smoking? I am sure it has happened but compaired to drunk drivers! Just ban them and save lots of money and lots of lives!!!

LONGTOM

How about a couple of pics.
1st My 70 Buick
2nd My pride & joy 56 Chevy BelAir I restored with high pro 350 motor
3rd Wifes 96 Chevy SS Impalia 160mph on the speedometer

Sorry, don't have any pics of the 68 Caprice!

blind ear · « **Reply #20 on:** February 19, 2012, 03:14:24 AM »

DDZ, Longtom, I could keep the X sideways most of the time on the country gravel roads but a small patch of ice and a slow roll at about 45 mph changed all that. ear

RobertInIowa · « **Reply #21 on:** February 19, 2012, 04:57:47 AM »

At that young age there's no real fear of death, it's always "someone else". They just don't understand the dangers in the world and how precious and delicate life really is. It's a shame all around.

Hooker · « **Reply #22 on:** February 19, 2012, 06:05:20 AM »

We always thought we were the best , masters of wheel until that fickle road reached up and slapped you with big old dose of reality.
Some of us got through with out a scratch turned out we weren't near as good as we were lucky. Had a good friend who' skills behind the wheel were awesome. It was like the car was a an extension of his body he could do amazing things with that old Nova of his. Like many of us here we knew the roads in our county better than we knew Betty Lou's bra size. What lease roads lead to where what gates were never closed which fields we could get through to the next section line ... My friend died when he slammed that old Nova in to a wheat truck on a old back road he was going to fast to stop. But we had made that curve hundreds of times before. Sometimes 4 at once with inches between our cars. I wont lie I still love that feeling you get when you swing into a curve and you are teetering on verge of losing it. When the cars trying to swap ends and you pop out of hard left on a gravel road with your wheels turned all the way to the right and you down to steering with the throttle.
Not long after the death of my friend one of our group hit cow on his cycle he lives life from a wheel chair and has use of one arm and his speech is slurred. Shortly after that I sold my last hotrod a 69 Mustang and took my thrill seeking off road dirt bikes and 4x4s I still do the 4x4s but at 52 the dirt bikes don't thrill as much as they beat me up

Pat

blind ear · « **Reply #23 on:** February 19, 2012, 06:49:31 AM »

Yes indeed, once it is out of your control you are just another pasenger on the way to a crash site. ear

yellowtail3 · « **Reply #24 on:** February 19, 2012, 07:32:33 AM »

I rode bikes during high school, and thought I was Kenny Roberts. I had Dad about an inch away from co-signing a note on a 1972 H2 Triple, before he backed out.

I'm glad he did...

Sourdough · « **Reply #25 on:** February 19, 2012, 09:05:15 AM »

I'm guilty, as I am sure most everyone here was at one point or another. As someone else said, we felt we were ten feet tall and bulletproof.

Jr year of high school, I was 17, Yea I failed the fifth grade. I was driving to the county seat for summer school classes, I had failed American History. 11 miles of good rolling concrete highway, straight as an arrow. I was driving a 1958 Mercury, factory limited edition with a 460 Lincoln engine. A factory supercharger, with two four barrel Hollys. Speedometer did not work, it only registered to 120 and that had been exceeded a few times. I was cruising pretty fast I knew, but really had no idea how fast I was going. I had four other high school boys in the car. Came over a small rise, saw what looked like a mail box on the side of the road. Did not pay it any mind. Came over the next rise, panic, some idiot was pulling off the shoulder in front of me. I swerved to change lanes and slid across three lanes. Luckily no one was coming from the other direction, I was on a four lane highway. Someone in back yelled "It's a State Trooper", so I put my foot to the floor and took off. We never saw the trooper again. As we approached Hendersonville, I stopped at Don's house and parked my Mercury in his garage. Three of the guys lived near Don's, so they walked home from there. Don and I got in his Barracuda and proceeded into town. At the edge of Hendersonville we ran into a roadblock. They were waiting for me, but since we were noty what they were looking for they waved us through and we went on into Nashville for our summer jobs.

Later that evening as I was arriving home, there sat my Dad, and his good school friend Gary Cook on the fence. Gary was a State Trooper, but since he and Dad were close friends he was there every couple of weeks. As I got out of my Mercury and headed for the door, Dad called me. As I approached Dad held out his hand and said license. I knew he knew about the trip in from Gallatin. I handed over my license, and Gary looked at me real hard. I stood there feeling stupid, but knowing better than to try and walk off, that would get me hurt with Dad's temper. Finally Gary started talking. He said, "Roggie we checked to see how many Gold and White 58 Mercurys are registered in the state. There is only two, the other one is in Memphis, and we know that old man would not be driving that fast. We clocked that car through radar at 135 mph. When you passed me you took off like you had an afterburner. I can't give you a ticket because I lost sight of you, but I'm going to let your Dad handle it".

Dad took the car for 6 months. During which time I had to go to the Race track in Nashville and handle tires. Dad's good friend and race car driver Marty Robins pulled me aside one night and led me into a building where they were giving a talk on tires, and showing a film. The program was for the race drivers, but Marty told them I needed to learn about tires. I learned about tire failure, and what speed would do to tires. I also learned that my average automobile tire for the public road system was only designed for sustained driving at no more than 70 mph, since most states had a 65 mph speed limit. If you were driving at higher speeds you needed a premium tire, which cost more money, and few people ever bought. I realized the danger of my high speed driving on those cheap tires I had put on that Mercury. I also realized how lucky I and all my friends had been not to have been killed when a tire blew at those insane speeds.

Won't say I stopped speeding after that, but I sure slowed down a lot. Then I went to hanging out with a buddy at his Dad's funeral home. Back then they served as Ambulance service for the community. I started driving sometimes to wrecks and accidents. After that I thought more about how I drove, and did not take chances like I had in the past. Since then I have advocated teenagers who are caught speeding should have to go out to traffic accidents with the emergency crews. Sure would slow them down.

When I finally got my drivers license back, Supercharger was missing, the car only had one carb, with one of the two fuel lines smashed so it got no flow. Took for ever to get it to 65 on the highway. I sold that Mercury and got a Volkswagen.