Tragedy strikes at Selmer Tennessee car show

[pettyfan43]

http://www.wmcstations.com/Global/story.asp?S=6668755

What kind of idiot does a full throttle burnout down the middle of a street lined with people in a car like that? What were these people thinking to do something like this?

NO real GUARDRAIL, NO type of barrier to keep that car out of the crowd. NOTHING between spectators and a 4000 HP Pro Mod car doing  a long smoky funny car style burnout?

Absolute stupidity!

[bull]

I read about that and I wonder if is was a mechanical malfunction. Maybe the guy just wanted to bump the throttle to get some rev and the throttle stuck. Who knows but I'd like to think the guy wasn't just being stupid.

[69bronzeT5]

Doing a burnout at a car show is fine but that was a bit too dangerous. And the guy is apperentley a professinal driver but yet he kills 4 people by being completley careless and stupid. That dosent sound too professinal to me

[Ghoste]

Actually doing a burnout at a car show isn't fine.  I'm guilty as charged as I'm sure most people on here are, but the fact is, it's just stupid.  There are SOOOOOOOOOOO many things that could go wrong and many of the people standing around at a car show are completely oblivious to all of that.  They are just bringing their kids to look at old cars, never thinking that a clutch could fly apart or a car get sideways or whatever.  At least at a dragstrip, the people in proximity to the car should have a general awareness of the dangers.
Like I said Cody, I've done it and I'm sure I'll do it again (and again) but don't ever think it's a good idea.  It's stupid.
Rant off.

[Charger1973]

I read about that and I wonder if is was a mechanical malfunction. Maybe the guy just wanted to bump the throttle to get some rev and the throttle stuck. Who knows but I'd like to think the guy wasn't just being stupid.

   

[Silver R/T]

its bad to see it happen especially when car show profits were intended for charity.

[69bronzeT5]

Actually doing a burnout at a car show isn't fine.

I dont know what you thought when I said doing one at a car show is fine. I meant like after its over and theres not a huge crowd standing around you like that guy did.

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

Real nice whod of thought a nice night out with the family to a car show could end your life? what a complete fucking moron who the hell brings a pro mod 3000+hp car to a car show anyway its not even street legal, sorry for the language but that just plain pisses me off

[69bronzeT5]

Well Matt, its fine if he brought the car to the show. But he shouldnt of done a burnout

[is_it_EVER_done?]

Obviously most of you didn't watch the video! Click on the link in the first post and do so.

The guy should be tried/convicted of murder. There is no excuse for what he did. To call it a burnout is laughable. He tried to do an out of control full pass, and lost control at well over 100 MPH (my guess).

Burnouts in that environment are fine and fun in my opinion, but what he did should get him executed.

[Bandit72]

Obviously most of you didn't watch the video! Click on the link in the first post and do so.

The guy should be tried/convicted of murder. There is no excuse for what he did. To call it a burnout is laughable. He tried to do an out of control full pass, and lost control at well over 100 MPH (my guess).

Burnouts in that environment are fine and fun in my opinion, but what he did should get him executed.

i agree...that was intended to be alot more than just a "burnout"

[R2]

Wow,,,,,,,, What an idiot,,,,.........no excuse for what he did,,,,,,,NO place for doing a "john force" like burnout,,,(more like a full pass at the strip),,,in front of the crowd,,,,,,,,,,,,keep that stuff at the track.......

[Forza]

Barking your tires for cheers at a car show is one thing. Doing a full speed drag strip demonstration on a road with no guard rails and a hundred or so spectators is completely stupid and wreckless. He's definitely looking at vehicular manslaughter at least. What a moron.

[dkn1997]

that's a shitload more than any "burnout" you see dragsters do at races

[Drache]

That just chilled my blood to watch that! I know that everyone can agree with me here that he will never race on a track again... $10 U.S. says that he will be banned from them all!

That asshole better feel a shitload of remose... but that is not going to stop the amount of personal lawsuits coming his way in the very near future!

[bull]

Obviously most of you didn't watch the video! Click on the link in the first post and do so.

I can't get the video to work.

[Mike DC]

 
WTF? 

He's guilty as hell. 

The distinction between a "burnout" and a "full pass" may be lost on the news coverage and the legal battles to come.  But to my eyes, he was 100% intentional in crossing the line.  That was simply not a burnout.  He was pushing that car down the strip for dozens of yards, full power, with full traction, and he still didn't even let off the throttle until he began losing control of it.
     
       

[6pkrunner]

 
WTF? 

He's guilty as hell. 

The distinction between a "burnout" and a "full pass" may be lost on the news coverage and the legal battles to come.  But to my eyes, he was 100% intentional in crossing the line.  That was simply not a burnout.  He was pushing that car down the strip for dozens of yards, full power, with full traction, and he still didn't even let off the throttle until he began losing control of it.
     
       

Exactly!!!! When I first had heard of this, I thought it was a burnout and it got sideways right away. That was indeed a full pass and for no one to be able to see the ramifications of a funny at full bore - beyond words really.

[71ChallengeHer]

What a senseless tragedy 

[69_500]

I'm in the category of it being a senless act. At the same time though I'm also thinking that now since this happened that a show that was orgionally set up to aid a chairty will wind up being shut down. While it is no big deal to shut down a show, there are plenty of other shows to attend, it does hurt the possible income of a charity. It also sheds some negative light on a charity to be the one "sponsoring" an event like this. Even though they aren't the ones to blame here, I'm sure that someone will try to tie them to the one person's senless act.

[Charger1973]

The article in the first post made it sound like he just spun his tires and lost control right away.  I cant see the video unless I want to spend an hour downloading it (dial up...  ) but from what you guys said, yeah that is BS.  I hope he gets what he deserves...   

[pettyfan43]

The guy stops in the middle of the street in a Pro Mod Corvette called the "Jack hammer" And whoever was driving the car did this big funny Car style burnout down the middle of the road, which was lined down either side with spectators.

Absolute abject stupidity!

THIS is the car.

[THE CHARGER PUNK]

and THIS is the video

http://www.wmcstations.com/global/video/popup/pop_player.asp?ClipID1=1518575&h1=EXCLUSIVE%20Raw%20Amateur%20Video%3A%20Deadly%20crash%20at%20Selmer%2C%20TN%20car%20show%3B%20Part%20I

[Shakey]

How about the idiotic organizers and the foolish folks that would bring their family into harms way to stand beside the road to watch this?   

I'm sure there is more to the story, as there always is.   

[Mike DC]

   
I wonder if the fatal car wasn't the first car to do something near a full pass.  Maybe several cars were doing this, and the fatal car was just the only car we're seeing that actually got into trouble.  The crowd seemed like they were PREPARED for the car to do a lot more than just a small burnout. 

.

[Arthu®]

I agree with MikeDC it looks like it might not have been the first car to do this. If that is the case the people standing next to it are about as dumb as the driver doing it. Standing next a dragstrip with little to no protection doesn't show of great intelligence. I can see how it would be cool to see, but how often don't you see on TV a dragster that loses control and crashes, it's not that rare.

Arthur

[41husk]

It doesn't matter how many cars did it first, It was wrong! not only should that guy face chargers, but the civil liability is mind boggling.

[Mike DC]

 
Oh, it's totally the driver's ass in a sling for this.  Never disputed that. 

Being in charge of that much power demands an equal amount of care/responsibility, which was clearly not present here. 
Even if the crowd was cheering for him to do a full-blast pass he should have known better.

 

[hemihead]

Actually doing a burnout at a car show isn't fine.  I'm guilty as charged as I'm sure most people on here are, but the fact is, it's just stupid.  There are SOOOOOOOOOOO many things that could go wrong and many of the people standing around at a car show are completely oblivious to all of that.  They are just bringing their kids to look at old cars, never thinking that a clutch could fly apart or a car get sideways or whatever.  At least at a dragstrip, the people in proximity to the car should have a general awareness of the dangers.
Like I said Cody, I've done it and I'm sure I'll do it again (and again) but don't ever think it's a good idea.  It's stupid.
Rant off.

I agree with you 100% . There is a time and place to do burnouts.Around a crowd of people isn't one of them. Maybe this might make people think twice before doing that in a crowd. Just watch the people at the Nats or at Carlisle they do it all the time.

[472 R/T SE]

According to witnesses there were cars racing side by side 1/8 mile typish.  In the video it shows him taking off and the car is pretty close to the yellow line.  As he's moving he drifts to the right and then starts going left hard.  There's a big guy in overalls standing out on the road close to that yellow line.  I wonder if the driver was trying to avoid the guy and just over corrected and lost it?   

I can't imagine how the parents of the 15 year olds' are feeling.  I'm so over protective of my 6 year old and to have such a senseless act occur would most likely put me over the edge.

Thoughts and prayers to the driver and all the families this affected. 

[4cruzin]

Definitely a sad situation!    Be praying for all of them. 

[firefighter3931]

Very sad situation for all involved 

A 2500hp Pro Mod race car has no business on a crowded street....what happened was inevitable. The driver showed poor judgement and should have got out of it long before he did.....or better yet not been there in the first place. 



Ron

[Charger_Fan]

During my hellish commute home last night, I heard a little blurb on the radio from some city official there. Apparently, this is an annual event the town has held & this is the first accident they've had...






...uhhh...I'm thinkin' they have been amazingly lucky in the years prior to this one!   A little forethought here would have gone a long way.

[HDCharger]

I don't live very far from there and glad I wasn't at the event.  Final tally is 6 dead.  Totally senseless and stupid!