UPDATE: Seven Teenagers Killed in NC car wreck fleeing from police. (1 suspected of home invasion)

The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte.com) ^ | 30 DEC 03 | ERICA BESHEARS, ROBERT MOORE & KATHRYN WELLIN

[Nov3]

You drive around at 100 miles per hour in a car with a spare tire rated for 45 with a fifteen year old at the wheel . . . .

[SauronOfMordor]

The parents all showed up at the death scene to criticize everyone else......I am wondering where the parents were when the kids were stealing, joyriding and causing mayhem on the road???

Parents were too busy arranging their next drug deal.

[FITZ]

I think any kid who gets to the point of stealing cars has already crossed the line into becoming a very dangerous criminal. It's not something like graffiti or even a shoplifting incident --- it's too far down the road of crime to pass it off as kidstuff.

[BossLady]

Doah! :o

I was wondering about the BLUE bandana the one kid is wearing in the picture shown......crips...bloods...eastside....westside??????

[meyer]

"The officer could have taken down a tag number and stopped", he said.

Its not like "tags" aren't easily changed or anything.

[meyer]

There is considerable discussion in police departments about the merits of high speed chases...Many departments do NOT allow the officer in the car to initiate a chase unless first getting radio permission from a supervisor. And more often, when pursuits enter densly populated areas, the officers are directed to abandon the pursuit. However, studies done in response to requests for a blanket policy against pursuing people running from things like traffic offenses..i.e.failure to stop when pulled over have shown that such a policy would actually cause MORE high speed chases, and probably more civilian injuries, becuase everyone would run away if they new they wouldn't be pursued...FWIW, since nearly all police cars have video cameras, if a suspects flees, it should be an automatic 5 year conviction....no ifs, and, or buts...that, IMHO, would stop a lot of these before they start..

To put it in perspective, if I were a scofflaw, I'd have no problem with fleeing if my chances of being chased were minimal. Drive down the road a few miles, ditch the car in an alley, and steal another vehicle. 'Getting away with it' is half the fun of the whole affair. The 'no chase' policy is destined to failure.

[notpoliticallycorewrecked]

Welcome to Free Republic

[NRA2BFree]

Thanks for the ping to this update. These kids were looking for trouble. It's unfortunate it ended their young lives.

[DCBryan1]

PS. I am fairly new here and registered tonight so I could respond to this thread.

Great! Welcome to Free Republic!

Rule number 1: Paragraphs are your friends (learn html formatting)
Rule number 2: Democrats are NOT your friends!

[Poohbah]

Having read the thread...

Words fail me.

These punks lived the lifestyle. They lived it to the bitter end. F*** 'em.

[backhoe]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1049262/posts
Highway Patrol: video shows pursuit in fatal wreck was proper (NC 7 Deaths)
Durham Herald Sun ^ | 12/31/03 | PAUL NOWELL
The media and other liberal critics need to understand that the teens were responsible for their own deaths. The police were doing their job as they were supposed to be. The teens made some poor decisions and frankly killed themselves--

This story has been edited from the original report, in which the father of one of the young victims made a statement that he knew they were routinely taking cars out for joyrides. The father ALLOWED this to go on for weeks, because they were just having fun. None wore seat belts, and the driver was 15. What kind of parent condones this behavior? You won't find this factoid anywhere from now on.

[PeyersPatches]

turned on his car's video camera

---

Smart cop - that move will probably save him from the onslaught of the "we're never responsible - blame the cop" crowd; particularly if he were quite a distance away when the wreck occurred.

My bets are drugs/booze were involved as well.

[PeyersPatches]

No drugs and (sic) alcohol) found

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"Found" being the key word - I'd like to know what their blood tox came back with. Sounds like nothing was "found" at the crash site (i.e. bottles, etc).

[PeyersPatches]

If the quiet desparation I feel is any indication of the masses of conservatives, we are in for some interesting times in the next 25 years or so.

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Ditto

[ridesthemiles]

Kids steal a car, run from the cops, kill themselves...parents blame cops. Idiots. Yes, their parents must be idiots too.

What comes around goes around. Don't feel sorry for the parents and I don't feel sorry for the kids. They made a concious choice and are now living with their actions.

Thank You. AMEN. I cannot find even the least shred of sorry for these kids. None of them were old enough to drive, so they ALL had to know that the car was stolen. Young punks who most likely would have been very expensive participants in the justice system for the rest of their lives, with the parents going into the court again and again saying "what a sweet child this is" over and over again, ad nauseum. They made a choice, and they paid for it. Saved the taxpayers alot of money. JMO

[ridesthemiles]

The "critical mass" has been reached, and this cultural virus will now play out its course.

If you really believe these kids are victims, then I pray you are never a "victim" of similar kids.

If this is a "cultural Virus", then I hope it attacks the younger and younger ones before they spend untold millions of dollars languishing in and out of the justice system, bankrupting the average taxpayer who has led a life of NO CRIMINAL BEHAVIOR. Good riddance to bad rubbish.