[stboz]

Definitely Darwin.

[lexington minuteman 1775]

Was alcohol involved?

[steve86]

Prayers offered no matter how stupid it was.

[driftdiver]

“As it neared the end of the runway, the car traveled off the end of an 85-foot high embankment. It became airborne for 200 feet and struck a large tree.”

I wonder if a JATO rocket was involved somehow. :)

[A.A. Cunningham]

Not breaking news: runway

[Old Sarge]

It became airborne for 200 feet

Guess they forgot to stick their arms out during the takeoff roll...

[fieldmarshaldj]

RIP.

[MindBender26]

Google Earth Travolta’s house alongside runway at 29 16 41 North - 82 06 59 West, complete with his own Boeing 720 (ex Quantas) in front yard.

[burzum]

As it neared the end of the runway, the car traveled off the end of an 85-foot high embankment. It became airborne for 200 feet and struck a large tree.

Just doing a rough estimate, but if they fell 85 feet and traveled 200 feet laterally then they left the embankment about 59 mph and hit the tree at about 77 mph. Any BMW could easily do 120 mph or more. Unfortunately the stopping power does not increase linearly with momentum. It would take roughly 4 times as long to stop at 120 mph as it would at 60 mph. I'm guessing that they were probably driving faster than 100 mph and underestimated the distance it would take to stop the vehicle.

[elkfersupper]

I’m willing to bet the brake lights were on at impact.