Posted on 12/22/2007 9:06:59 PM PST by NonValueAdded
Orange County, Fla. -- A bad crash late Friday night that killed two people in Orange County may have been the result of street racing.
A witness reported seeing a Ford Mustang and another vehicle racing eastbound on State Road 520 near Maxim Parkway when one of them lost control. Investigators say the Mustang, driven by 19-year-old Justin Lawson of Orlando, crossed the median and flipped over into the westbound lane. A third driver traveling in that lane was killed.
Florida Highway Patrol Troopers say 19-year-old Lindsay Brown of Rockledge, a passenger in Lawson's mustang, died while still trapped in her seat. Family and friends told Channel 9 the Air Force Academy sophmore was visiting her family in Rockledge for Christmas. She was getting a ride home from Lawson, who was reportedly her ex-boyfriend.
Troopers say Lawson was speeding. They believe a pick-up truck was racing the mustang and left the scene. Troopers are still looking for the driver of that truck and are asking anyone with information to come forward.
By all reports she was an outstanding student-athlete. Lawson survived and is facing charges. Prayers for the Brown family and the family of the other driver whose life was snuffed out by Lawson and the unknown pickup truck driver.
Chapter 11,849 in the endless saga of tragic street racing in FL...
they’ve got some real traffic enforcement issues down here.
RIP.
I did a lot of stupid things when I was young and some of them involved cars. I have always been grateful that my stupid antics never resulted in anyone getting injured or killed. It was only by the grace of God that I was not in the shoes of the young man who is facing charges. I do not know if I could have faced the world knowing I caused the death of another person through my stupidity. So I pray for all involved and their families. May God give them strength and comfort.
deaths of two people. The teen's car flipped over and killed the promising young cadet but also spun into another lane and killed 31 y/o Robbin Lee Hollar a guy just coming home from work.
Two people. The guy driving home from work was just in the wrong place and the wrong time. It seems so unjust. Why him? Why now? It is things like this that challenge my belief in God.
I did a lot of stupid things when I was young and some of them involved cars. I have always been grateful that my stupid antics never resulted in anyone getting injured or killed. It was only by the grace of God that I was not in the shoes of the young man who is facing charges. I do not know if I could have faced the world knowing I caused the death of another person through my stupidity.
I can relate the this.
I recommend (respectfully of course) the book “Through Gates of Splendor,” by Elisabeth Eliot Gren. In 1956, her then-husband Jim Eliot, a missionary to Ecuador, was killed just as he was getting off the plane there, before he even had a chance to evangelize to them. He was young (?26?).
Well, years later a number of that Indian group became believers. I don’t know for a fact, but I also believe the actual man who killed Jim Eliot became a pastor of their church, and Mrs. Eliot spoke at some of their services.
We don’t know why bad things happen. However, God is in control, and God can find a way to glorify Himself through those things, bad as they are.
Someone said it well: God doesn’t promise us a smooth journey, only a safe landing.
I’d personally like to see a law in effect where if you are caught racing...you automatically lose your license for 60 days...no exceptions period. Just paying off the county or the cops is not enough...nor is a simple ticket enough. Once you start taking their license away for two months...then these idiots start to think about the privilege. And the second time they get caught...turn it into a 12-month suspension on the license...with a very hefty fine.
Big, heavy engines shouldn't be in street cars with a short-coupled wheelbase.
Thank you, Ralph Nader.
Is there any possibility in your mind it was the driver's fault?
In CA they can, and often do, crush your vehicle if caught racing.
While any needless death is tragic to that family, and one too many; deaths caused by vehicles racing is a very small percentage of the total highway deaths. (If memory serves: 2%.)
Lets take away licenses from those who use cell phones, eat, apply make-up, drive while drowsey.... and, of course, drunk drivers.
It was a new car, I watched from just three car lengths away, and I saw no wrong moves.
Ralph opposed the Corvair.
I drove my girlfriend's '65 just once—it was an accident waiting to happen. The Corvair is a long-coupled wheelbase, but rear tire pressures are key.
A 65 Corvair convertible (4 single-bbls) was my commuting vehicle when I went to college. I drove it three years without a problem.
You'd probably classify my current vehicle as "engine heavy" (see profile). The tires will break loose at 70 mph on wet roads if you goose it. Part of the joy of high performance vehicles is learning how, exactly, to drive them properly. They aren't meant for everyone even though they are for sale to everyone.
So tell us what kind of racing car you were hauling and in what series does it race in.
Lindsay spoke to the students at her high school on Wednesday about life and opportunities after high school. Her coach talked about her leadership on the swim team and in the classroom. She could have easily been going to Florida State or the University of Florida on a state scholarship. She no doubt qualified for an Ivy League education and had her choice of top schools. Instead she chose the Air Force Academy and was going to serve her country, the same as all those wonderful young people in our service academies. She will be missed. Please send prayers for her family and her fellow cadets.
I can understand that. The only (poor) answer I have is that God allows us free will, the logic of which implies that our choices have consequences for others -- some of which are awful, as in this case.
These things do test our faith. What's important is how we approach God after those bad things happen.
I miss the part in the story about which car God was driving. Was he arrested?
miss = missed
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