Joy ride turns nearly fatal (Stolen Viper goes airborne after only 4 blocks)

Effingham (IL) Daily News ^ | 10.8.03 | KIM WIEDMAN

[mhking]

NEWTON - She had only been allowed out a few times for special occasions, and when she did go out, people couldn't help but stop and stare.

With her V-10 motor and six-speed manual transmission, there wasn't many like her on the road, and her owners, Kevin and Max Short of McClane Motors in Newton, knew how special she was. She was hand-assembled and part of a limited production.

After she was purchased in the later part of '94, when it was worth $60,500, the owners toyed with the idea of selling her, but with looks like hers, they couldn't help but become too attached.

On a few occasions, the McClane's had taken her out to show her off in parades and she did go on a few short trips here and there, but she was mainly used as an attention-grabber to attract people to the dealership.

On Friday night, she was driven proudly through the Newton High School Homecoming Parade, where she carried a queen candidate, Kevin Short's stepdaughter Emily Matson, for all parade-goers to admire.

Following the parade, she wasn't taken back to her normal storage area, but instead with her odometer set at 169, she was parked in the shop area of the dealership where her owners had intended for her to stay until the next day when they planned to take her out and show her off a little.

Her next trip, however, would come just a few hours later, when a driver she was unfamiliar with took her out for a spin.

As she left McClane Motors in Newton with the unfamiliar driver, no one could have anticipated what would happen next.

Just four short blocks from the dealership along Illinois 33, the '95 red Dodge Viper became airborne as the driver lost control causing the vehicle to strike a parked tractor at Newton Tractor Sales. The motor of the tractor was pushed back an estimated 6 inches, and the Viper was ripped to shreds.

Witnesses say they saw the Viper pass by around 4:05 a.m. Saturday at an excessive speed and then they heard the crash - which residents say was heard blocks away.

Kevin Short, general manager of McClane Motors, who has been around the car business as long as he can remember, said when he heard the news about what had happened to the car, he was in disbelief.

"I was pretty shocked about the whole incident," said Short. "We initially had gotten it as a possible vehicle to sell, but it is not a car that everyone in this area is going to buy. We had gotten attached to it."

Although it is unknown what the exact rate of speed the car was traveling when it crashed, Short said the car is capable of reaching a high rate of speed in a very short period of time.

According to a Web site that features specifications on that year of Dodge Viper, the Viper is capable of reaching up to 113.8 mph in a quarter of a mile, which is about the distance the Viper traveled before it was wrecked.

The car that was once admired as it traveled down the roadway now sits in an undisclosed location, and the driver of the car, Joshua S. Clasby, 25, of Greenup remains in critical condition at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana.

Illinois State Police is continuing to investigate the crash, and Clasby could face criminal and traffic charges.

[truthandjustice1]

You bet: SSN-607...now providing some of the cleanest shaves in the land

[laotzu]

"give us real "stunt" drivers a bad name"

Amen, brother!

[Blest84]

You should be very careful because what goes around comes around. Does anybody stop to think about the condition of this Joshua S. Clasby. Maybe the fact that he might have two children at home named Dana who is 3 and Audrey who is 18 months, and maybe that he is fightiung for his life to have the chance to let these two little girls be able to be with their daddy again. Or how about the fact that Joshua S. Clasby maybe the son of a wonderful mother who is now having tho raise these two children, or that he may have a wonderful sister out there waiting on him to fight for his life, who goes by the screen name Blest84?

[lewislynn]

back when Jimmy Carter lowered the speed limit to 55...)

Actually it was (R) Richard Nixon who imposed a national speed limit of 55 mph, not Jimmy Carter.

[fso301]

the driver of the car, Joshua S. Clasby, 25, of Greenup remains in critical condition at Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana

Sad, really sad. I always hate stories with sad endings. Now I need to cheer myself up by re-reading that happy FR thread about the lady who shot once at two robbers killing both of them. Now that was a story with a happy ending.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

Is he your brother?

Welcome to Freerepublic.

[GirlShortstop]

re: "Clasby could face criminal and traffic charges."

COULD???

YOU MEAN MIGHT???

Purely speculation here, but maybe the driver was an employed technician from the dealership?  Frankly, that was my presumption until your comment prompted me to take another look.  FReegards.

....parked in the shop area of the dealership where her owners had intended for her to stay until the next day when they planned to take her out and show her off a little.

Her next trip, however, would come just a few hours later, when a driver she was unfamiliar with took her out for a spin.

[PLMerite]

A 2004 Maybach? The thing with recliners for rear seats? A 13.4 second quarter-mile? Damn, I'd like to see that!!!

[GirlShortstop]

or that he may have a wonderful sister out there waiting on him to fight for his life, who goes by the screen name Blest84?

You are absolutely in the right to remind the readers that Joshua is a life... and he does matter.

Prayers for him and his family are certainly warranted.  FReegards.

[knews_hound]

I drive a supercharged Audi A4 2.8L Quattro.

I'd smoke you all!!

Dont bet on it.

I have a little Pony I could introduce you to.

6.9 Liters of Fuel Injected V8 Horsepower.

Cheers,

knews hound

[xp38]

The Shelby Cobra was basically an english sports car with a big block Ford 289 or 427 dropped into it. The proper name was the AC Shelby Cobra. AC was the english sports car. The AC also drew a lot of inspiration from the early Ferraris of the 1950s. The Ford GT 40 had a very strong english involvement in its development too.

[Bikers4Bush]

I should be careful? I'm not the thief stealing the cars that belong to other people to take them for a joy ride and ultimately wrecking them.

If what you stated is true then it sounds to me like the kids will be better off with the grandmother.

If he is your brother maybe you should stop coddling him and tell him that he probably got less than what he deserved.

[Bikers4Bush]

The thief is a cancer to society and his family.