Sunday, March 5, 2006 · Last updated 11:20 p.m. PT

Four students killed in N.C. car accident

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A speeding car went airborne as it crossed a highway exit bridge, crashing to the ground 58 feet below and bursting into flames late Saturday. Four high school students were killed, officials said.

The victims were seniors at Wakefield High School in Raleigh, principal Stephen G. Takacs said.

The car, a 2004 Mazda RX-8, took an exit bridge over Interstate 440 and hit a concrete barrier, police said.

The car skidded along the barrier for 410 feet before rising over it, flying 224 feet forward and dropping to the ground, where it rolled and burst into flames, police said.

The victim's identities were not immediately released.

 

I've often thought, in retrospect, that it's a wonder any of us make it through our formative inexperienced early driving years, and it's certainly a tradegy when some don't.

Many drivers young & old don't seem to realize the life and death authority they wield over all in their car and even in their immediate surroundings. So sad - so young.

 

I'm glad they got out of the gene pool early before they wasted even more resources or possibly reproduced.

 

Stories like this are why, no matter how much $$$ I have, and how responsible my kids are...they are not getting a RWD sports car at this age. PERIOD.

 

^^Bad logic. Plenty of kids get killed in FWD econoboxes. Many have survived quite well in RWD coupes.
It is parenting, genes and environment that make the difference.

In all, risky behaviour is what makes humans great. Those with the appropriate skill set get to go on and reproduce. Those without end up in a ball of flaming wreckage at the bottom of a drainage culvert.

 

Raising a responsible driver is very hard and specially when you have cars getting more HP and more HP........kids dont think in the future but only in the moment.

Our prairs and thought our with those kids families.

 

I wonder how fast the car was going when it crashed...and how fast it would have been going if it was a shitbox that high school students *should* be driving, instead of an RX-8. My first car couldn't get over 100mph DOWNHILL.

I hope the kids parents give themselves a pat on the back for making such a wise purchase. Poor kids.

 

An insight to who you really are. What a hateful thing to say. Absolutely disgusting.

 

Complete BS.

Kids raised to see a need for immediate reward think that way. "Good little Johhny! He didn't call his mom names for the whole ride home! Lets get him some McDonalds!"

Plenty of kids survived my generation with far more HP than the current crop of cars - and don't try to tell me that because a car weighs 800 Lbs more that it is somehow safer.
We feared reprisal. We craved the respect of our parents or our role models. We pined for the future.
Furthermore, I am surrounded by people that are raising their kids well and made proper decisions (conscious or otherwise) when choosing a mate and an environment in which to immerse their family.

Perhaps.

Absolutely not. Hateful would be: "TrackAddict is an incompetant parent and smells bad".

Moreso than bad parenting?

If parents won't do the right thing, hopefully Darwin will.

We have done so well as a society in removing the danger from life that far too many people that don't deserve it get to to enjoy it.

 

For some reason everytime you post MM I learn something. Thank you, I feel the same way. It seems that we have to be sympathetic towards everything now a days.

 

I'm with MM on this. I'm 21 with a RX-8. when I was 18 and in high school I was given a Harley sportster 1200 custom with a stage 3 motor (110+ hp), never had a ticket. My first car at 16 was a corvette. I drive with respect to others and drive like a bat out of hell on the race track......WHY B/C if I ever got a ticket or my dad cought me speeding he would kill me not put me in the corner but stab me haha. He is a great father and thats why I grew up with high HP RW sport cars and never had a problem. Cars are not toys!!!!!!!! Unless your on a track lol. And yes I do feel safer now that that RX-8 is off the road that could have been me hit by a flying 8 with dumb kids in it. Please don't think of me as a bad guy, I work as a part time fire fighter here in town, I have seen many car accidents with high school kids in it, and every time it's speeding, and get this,,, with todays development of high tech this and that to help you in a car crash the one thing these kids dont use is their darn seat belt. I was raised with a mother that would'nt start the car if i didnt have a seat belt on. Parents need to teach their children, who now a days want to all be street racer wannabees but cant drive worth sh*t. And yes MM we need to weed out the weak,before they weed us out, It sucks but that is life and life is a bi*ch

 

Read my avatar. They were people who others loved. Too bad you don't know what thats like. Idiot.

 

You guys are being sugar coated babys. Join the real world. Dumb people die every day doing dumb things. I feel for the family and friends. It sux they died, I bet they were nice kids. But it does'nt change the fact that their idiots.What Mazda Maniac said is the truth, yes it may be hard to read and sound to the point but nothing he is saying is false. So take a shot of life and look around.

 

Let's not forget everyone that four kids died. KIDS!!! Sure the driver may have made a mistake in judgement, but let's not disrespect them or thier families by namecalling or insulting them. Just show your respect for a fellow RX-8 owner.

 

Sure, it's really sad those kids died, but call a spade a spade.. Just because they were kids with a whole life ahead of them, or that the were loved, doesn't absolve them from the responsibility they shirked when they took that car to unsafe speeds. They were a danger to themselves and to other road users, and other innocent people (who are loved too) could have died as a result of their behaviour. Don't lose sight of the real issue just because the deceased belonged to a social group we have a soft spot for. Remember: they could've taken other people with them!

 

But it does'nt change the fact that their idiots.

Really? ALL people make mistakes. Doesn't make them idiots. But spouting insensitive nonsense does.

 

How's the view from that high horse?

 

You are absolutely right. But at the same time, it could have just been the driver who was at fault. No one knows if the other kids in the car were trying to get him to stop driving like he was, and know one knows if they were contributing to the danger. All I'm saying is that no one knows for sure because none of us were there. Let's remember, there are a lot of responsible teenagers who know that driving is a privilege and not a right, and they treat it as such.

 

May The Almighty God Welcome Them In To His Kingdom And Bring Comfort And Peace To Their Famalies And Loved Ones.

Every One Is Entitled To Their Opinions Let Urs Be Known But With Respect!

 

I'm in basically the same situation and agree with you 100%. My parents trust me and my unblemished driving record, along with the knowledge that I am willing to drive hours to meet them for DE's to get the need for speed bug out of my system. I'm only blessed with my RX-8 because I saved my parents $160,000+ in college tuition and fees and because they know that I'll be safe with it, and can continue to see them through my college career when I use my car in driving events alongside them.

I'm saddened by the fact that INEXPERIENCED teenagers who probably didn't "earn" the right to drive a sports car killed themselves and innocent passengers, but I'm ELATED that they decided to do it to themselves instead of taking someone else with them.

All of you who would say that there's an age limit to drive an RX-8, understand this: Many of us 19-25 year olds have much more reason to drive an RX-8 than you do. Its kind of ironic that a 19 year old has to tell you to act your age.

My .02,
Michael

 

PREACH ON, FELLOW JERSEYBOY!!!

 

I couldn't have said that better myself.

 

Rather good.. You can see quite clearly up here.

Not everyone who sounds unsympathetic, is.. if you think preaching responsibility and bearing the consequences of one's actions is unsympathetic, then i really hope you don't ever give your children the keys to any automobile.

I sincerely hope you don't lose someone you love to some crazy driving from others, that's all.

 

Furthermore, not all mistakes are created equal.. some are created from more hair-brained situations than others.

PS: I'm an airline pilot. I live everyday with the possibility that my mistakes could end hundreds of lives. I hope you don't expect me to take ridiculous risks, and then say 'oops, i made a mistake.. please don't blame me. Everyone makes mistakes!'

 

updated story with names of deceased driver and passengers:
http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/415158.html

The car was traveling at an estimated 110-115 MPH on a curving elevated transition road when it went out of control.

Sorry, but doing that wasn't a "mistake". A mistake is something you didn't mean to do -- like stepping on someone's foot. We all know that the driver of this car was probably showing off to his buddies what his RX-8 could do. He was deliberately and consciously engaging in behavior that he knew at the time was illegal and highly risky, and yet he chose to do so anyway -- and as a result killed himself and all his friends.

There is no sympathy here for him. His passengers were helpless (although they probably didn't discourage him), so I do feel sympathy for them and their loved ones. The parents of the driver, IMHO, are complete idiots and ought to be prosecuted for criminal negligence if they bought him that car and allowed him to drive it.