What do you get when you cross a teenager with a...

[K Frame]

hot BMW?

Two dead, one critically injured.

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/06/6-hospitalized-after-fairfax-co-crash-involving-pedestrians/

This happened less than a mile from my house. I didn't know about when when I was coming home from work and got mixed up in the aftermath -- the Toyota was still on the scene, I didn't take notice of the BMW.

In the past 18 months people feeling the need for speed have struck four juvenile pedestrians, killing two of them.

Four days from the end of the school year.

[Bogie]

The St. Louis sport of choice is no longer baseball, but it is IRL GTA:STL... I try to avoid driving after dark - they'll steal a car and then play bumper cars.

[WLJ]

The St. Louis sport of choice is no longer baseball, but it is IRL GTA:STL... I try to avoid driving after dark - they'll steal a car and then play bumper cars.

And what happens when they get caught?
Nothing
And then they do it again the next night

[Jim147]

And what happens when they get caught?
Nothing
And then they do it again the next night

Yeah, on that side of the state that witch doesn't do anything.

[Perd Hapley]

Yeah, on that side of the state that witch doesn't do anything.

She's not in charge of the entire eastern half, but in that corner of this side of the state...

[230RN]

Why wasn't the car locked up in a car safe where young folks couldn't get their hands on it?

Was the car registered?  These things wouldn't happen if cars were registered, especially those high-powered ones.

[Bogie]

BMWs are popular with the young folks who think that they are "street racers." So are Dodge Chargers. And I swear, those things were thrown together in the assembly plant by a bunch of crack-addled lunatics who were grabbing random parts from random piles. They like Mustangs too. If it looks like a Hot Wheels wet dream, even if it has a 1.3 hamster whinebox under the hood, they take it out and try to drive it like they just stole it. Which is often the case anyway.

[WLJ]

Why wasn't the car locked up in a car safe where young folks couldn't get their hands on it?

Was the car registered?  These things wouldn't happen if cars were registered, especially those high-powered ones.

And no one needs more than 10 gallons of gas.
Bet the car even had one of those evil shoulder things that goes up

[230RN]

^    Good one !  (As usual.)

Terry

[MechAg94]

Did the article say the BMW was stolen?

It mentioned the BMW collided with a Toyota turning left which would happen if they were going too fast and not paying attention. 

It seemed to me that most of the high school students I went to school with who had new vehicles ended up wrecking them at some point.  Maybe have just been because they ended up being the one driving out of the group.

[K Frame]

"Did the article say the BMW was stolen?"

No word on that in any of the follow on articles, so I'm assuming no.

"It mentioned the BMW collided with a Toyota turning left which would happen if they were going too fast and not paying attention."

The intersection where this happened is less than a half mile from my house, the road on which it happened is the one I take to work every day. That road is signed at 35 MPH. At the best of times speeds often 5 to 10 higher than that for the slower cars. A lot of cars treat it as a drag strip.

The sight lines, though, especially in the direction the Toyota was pointing, are pretty good, so my guess is that the Toyota either misjudged how fast the BMW was moving or simply didn't see him because he/she was more focused on making sure the three girls who were hit were clear of the intersection.

I've seen multiple news reports saying that the BMW was traveling at a "high rate of speed."

My guess, based on the damage to both vehicles as well has how far the BMW traveled, is that it was going at least 55 mph, and probably over that.

[dogmush]

The picture of the 4Runner doesn't look like a 55 collision to me.  It looks almost exactly like the IIHS 35mph frontal collision videos on Youtube.

Also, I know it says the BMW was speeding, but:

a white BMW speeding southbound on Blake collided with a Toyota 4Runner that was turning left onto Five Oaks.

Did the 4Runner have a green arrow? In most worlds the car turning left across traffic is supposed to yield on just a normal green.

[230RN]

Those oncoming left turns are dangerous.

The James Dean accident was one of them.

I myself went over a Buick which was doing an oncoming left.  I was in the bicycle lane doing 20mph and she did not see me.  Helmeted, concussion, broken collarbone.  The concussion didn't affe  affe  affe... bother me at all.

I mentioned previously in an Equinox post how cars turning left on those due east - due west  roads might not see you because of sunrise or sunset glare.

When in doubt, wait it out.

Terry, 230RN

REF (James Dean Accident animation, note the 3 seconds):
https://youtu.be/D8C7hhbedGk (0:03)

[K Frame]

"Did the 4Runner have a green arrow? In most worlds the car turning left across traffic is supposed to yield on just a normal green."

Unknown. The accident reconstruction hasn't been released yet.

As for the damage to the Toyota, it was apparently more of a glancing blow, not even remotely square.

If you take a look at the extent of damage sustained by the BMW it points to speed well in excess of 35 MPH.

[dogmush]

Maybe,  The only pic I saw of the BMW was on the video attached to the PD's tweet.  Pretty much same as the 4Runner, front end damage on the hood and fenders that didn't compromise the passenger compartment, except they also had side damage from the light pole/traffic light thing they took out.  They did travel a good long ways.

I think a lot of folks don't realize the extant to which modern cars crumple to absorb energy and look like they were driving mach jesus after an accident when in reality super high speeds weren't involved.

Certainly, the passengers of the BMW taking off on foot after the accident doesn't make it look like they were the most responsible members of the community.

[K Frame]

I can't find a good picture of it right now, but the driver's side of the BMW has crush and metal tearing damage the whole length of the side of the car consistent with it impacting something with the front left corner of the car and then dragging down that object.

It has impact damage on the right front that is (or seems to be to me) consistent with it sawing off the utility pole with minimal damage to the passenger side of the car.

Ok at 1:06 in the video at the top of this article you get a decent view of the left side of the BMW that shows what I interpret to be damage from it dragging along the front end of the Toyota. You don't get that kind of damage at 35 MPH.

What looks like a dark streak along the side of the BMW is where the metal is torn and peeled.

https://news.yahoo.com/police-rule-18-old-driver-232015323.html

[K Frame]

Well, looks like the driver of the BMW is facing some serious prison time...

He's been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Reconstruction says that he was going 81 MPH when he hit the turning car. Speed limit through that stretch is 35 MPH.

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/06/18-year-old-indicted-in-crash-that-killed-2-oakton-high-school-students/

[Hawkmoon]

Well, looks like the driver of the BMW is facing some serious prison time...

He's been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Reconstruction says that he was going 81 MPH when he hit the turning car. Speed limit through that stretch is 35 MPH.

https://wtop.com/fairfax-county/2022/06/18-year-old-indicted-in-crash-that-killed-2-oakton-high-school-students/

Reconstruction is easy these days. Beemers have had black boxes that record speed and RPM since 20 years ago.

My brother used to be the service manager at a BMW dealership. They had a fairly new Beemer come in with a blown engine. Customer expected a new engine under warranty. They ran the black box and found that the engine had been repeatedly revved to significantly higher than the redline. Customer claimed he was driving at normal speeds and the engine just blew up.

Umm ... nice try.

[K Frame]

One of my neighbors was saying that he'd be surprised if the kid was around come trial time.

Apparently Mommy and Daddy are quite wealthy and have lots of ties back in whatever sand dune they hail from so there's speculation that the parents are going to get the kid gone.

Of course, this is all neighborhood gossip, so who the hell knows.

[Hawkmoon]

One of my neighbors was saying that he'd be surprised if the kid was around come trial time.

Apparently Mommy and Daddy are quite wealthy and have lots of ties back in whatever sand dune they hail from so there's speculation that the parents are going to get the kid gone.

Of course, this is all neighborhood gossip, so who the hell knows.

That would not be surprising. There are a lot of immigrants who think the only American laws that apply to them are the ones they can use to their own benefit.

[dogmush]

That's pretty common in a lot of the world.  The only laws that apply to you are the ones that benefit you.

[JTHunter]

The St. Louis sport of choice is no longer baseball, but it is IRL GTA:STL... I try to avoid driving after dark - they'll steal a car and then play bumper cars.

At about 1:45 AM Monday morning, a SUV being driven by a 13 y.o., with 2 more 13 y.o. AND a 9 y.o. passengers ran off the road, crashed into a tree and burst into flames.  This happened in Florissant, MO, a suburb just NW of St. Louis.
Only the 13 y.o. driver survived.  He has now been charged with 3 counts of involuntary manslaughter.
1 - Where were the parents??
2 - How & where did they get the SUV?