Teen Driving Deaths' Recurring Pain

Hands trembling, face flushed, voice a terrified croak, Justin Lapier, 20, tried to explain yesterday how he felt about having killed two of his best friends. " 'I'm sorry' doesn't cut it," he told their parents in a Spotsylvania County courtroom. " 'I'm sorry' is what I'd say if I broke something in your house."

In a letter to the judge, Lapier described how it happened -- how he was drinking and driving that April night before the accident, how he revved up his new Acura shortly before dawn because his friends "wanted to see what my car could do." What it could do -- before it flipped on a winding country road in central Virginia -- was at least 95 mph.

So when the judge sentenced Lapier to five months in jail, the courtroom suddenly went silent of crying for the first time all afternoon -- the quiet of parents left without resolution, with rocked families and ruined friendships and a sense that the price for all that would not be paid. Lapier faced a maximum 10-year prison sentence for involuntary manslaughter.

Yep! And I Ozzy is the reason teens commit suicide, the Doom game caused Columbine, Beetles caused Manson family to murder the Tates (helter skelter) and Microsoft's flight simulator caused 9/11...

Sorry this just peeves me off...it's NEVER the game/music/movie. It all goes back to upbringing & parents. People do things because they are simply stupid and were not raised properly. The were never taught to respect others, think of consequenses nor to be accountable. Far too many people trust thier kids upbringing to day care centers, schools, TV and games - they'll drop a kid anywhere but their own lap, anything to get him out of you hair so you can about your business. Well, sorry, your kid is YOUR BUSINESS!!

and 38, by 'you' I don't mean you specifically - you may be a great parent/person (you are a FReeper!)- I mean the US Populace in general)

This is from yesterday's Santa Maria, CA Times. The car was actually split into two pieces. Amazingly, the fourth teen in the car ended up with only an ankle injury.

Santa Maria, California - Santa Maria Times, 12/09/2004

Alcohol, racing not deemed factor in accident

Staff report

There is no indication that alcohol or drugs were a factor in the Tuesday night crash that killed three local teenagers, according to the California Highway Patrol, though toxicology tests will be conducted by the Santa Barbara County coroner.

And although a witness reported seeing the westbound car rounding a curve on Rice Ranch Road at an estimated speed of more than 80 mph, there is no indication that the driver was racing with another car, said Officer Gus Lopez of the CHP.

The speed limit on Rice Ranch Road is 45 mph west until the last residential street, when the limit increases to 55, Lopez said.

The 17-year-old driver, Elijah Danell, received his provisional license Nov. 20, Lopez said. This license prohibited him from carrying underage passengers for at least six months - which would have been next May 20.

The 1992 Honda Civic was equipped with high-performance tires and the body had been lowered, two modifications often seen in cars used for street racing, Lopez said. However, despite rumors to the contrary, police have found no reason to believe a race was in progress and are not looking for a second car, he added.

Results of toxicology tests performed as part of an autopsy are frequently not available for more than a week.

At this very moment, my daughter, who teaches at a small, local school, is attending the funeral of one of its junior class students.

Immediately after school a couple of days ago, he was riding in a pickup driven by another 16 year old when it skidded, (at high speed) rolled, and crashed into a tree. Both teens were "ejected from the vehicle" (no seat belts). The passenger was dead at the scene, and the driver was airlifted to a hospital, where he remains in critical condition.

To make things even more tragic, the mother of the dead boy (one of my daughter's fellow teachers) came upon the scene on her way home from school -- while her son's body was still lying beside the road.

No alcohol; no drugs; just the typical teens' immaturity and false sense of personal invulnerability.

Now an entire, small school system is grieving...

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