Tragedy in Accokeek, MD anyone near?

[Projekt]

ACCOKEEK, Md. - A car plowed into a crowd that had gathered to watch a drag race on a suburban road early Saturday, killing seven people and injuring at least four, police said.

The white sedan hit people standing on the side of Route 210 around 3:40 a.m., Prince George's County Police Cpl. Clinton Copeland said. A tractor-trailer that came by shortly afterward may also have struck someone on the road as it tried to avoid the crash, he said.

"It's probably one of the worst scenes I've seen," Copeland said. "This is a situation that could have been avoided, and it's a very tragic situation."

Four people were taken to hospitals, Copeland said. Their conditions weren't immediately known.

The driver of the car had been interviewed and did not appear to be seriously hurt, but a passenger was among the dead, Police Capt. Donald Frick said.

Route 210 has two lanes in each direction and traffic lights about every 150 to 200 yards in Accokeek, about 20 miles south of Washington.

Investigators were working to piece together the chain of events and had "more questions than answers," Copeland said.

 

[NINJA KILLER]

Street Racing is no good, Nothing but bad thing's have come from these races, Usually death.

 

[Lycan]

I can speak from experience and tell you thats what goes on down there on that road

 

[NINJA KILLER]

I can speak from experience and tell you thats what goes on down there on that road

Something tells me that those things might stop before to long or at least be monitored to limit the racing.

 

[Busasweety]

Just read this 2 mins ago....crazy !!!!

 

[Mr Bogus]

Yea i would drop a letter to the paper that published the story and define the difference between "Drag Race" and "Street Race"

Street racing is not drag racing...

 

[Supergank1]

they have been racing down on 210(indian head highway)for years, i think i raced down there back in the early 80`s when i was young and dumb...the problem is these guys now are runing 8 and 9 second cars on the street instead of the 12 second cars we used to run and can`t control them and people watching line the sides of the road all the way down instead of staying behind the starting line like they used to...still is a bad deal when this happens but you have to use some common sense sometimes..

 

[GMbusa]

They've been running 8-9 second cars there for years. But the thing different was back then, we all knew how quickly those cars can get out of shape and we all stood waaay back.

The idiots today stand right on the edge of the road. If your car even gets alittle loose, your gonna tag someone.

 

[Supergank1]

They've been running 8-9 second cars there for years. But the thing different was back then, we all knew how quickly those cars can get out of shape and we all stood waaay back.  

The idiots today stand right on the edge of the road. If your car even gets alittle loose, your gonna tag someone.

yea they have been running those 8-9 second cars down there for a while but i was talking about the early 80`s (the jack-n-the-box/dogpatch)when i was racing and nobody had an 8 or 9 second car back then on the street!!! some of these guys with these cars are young(probably dealing)and can`t drive them like the guys of a few years ago and like you said we knew better than to stand right on the side of the road...duh!!!! anyway, looks like the car that hit everyone wasn`t one of the cars racing but some other fool. still a damn shame though....

 

[GoAWOL]

Looks like an oncoming car did all the damage...not the street racers.

" According to police, two cars had lined up for a race on the smooth and relatively flat and straight stretch of highway. They spun their wheels, kicking up smoke, then sped off, Copeland said.

The crowd then moved into the road to watch the cars drive away. The combination of the smoke and the dark morning likely meant the driver of the approaching white sedan could not see the crowd. No charges were pending."

8-9 second cars?!! That is drag racing isn't it?

 

[runeight]

Just heard 8 dead. Very sad.

r8

 

[Mr Bogus]

no it is "street racing" .. most publications have accepted the difference between "street racing" and "Drag racing"

It is something of a disservice to real "Drag racing" participants to classify something as unorganized and unsafe as street racing as drag racing..

 

[Supergank1]

+1 IMHO drag racing is done on a track where it is much safer for everyone. street racing is a whole different thing.

 

[Sweeney]

Yea this was just around the corner from me...waiting to find out names of the casualties. What I've heard is just after the race, the white sedan with no headlights on just came out of no where...

 

[Copperone]

Very Sad. Someone should get a grip on that situation before more people are killed..

 

[earlgpz750]

wow thats a shame....prayers to all those involved and families.

 

[Mr Bogus]

While I feel bad about the deaths, watching the video of the lady that took her dad and young child to watch the races makes my blood boil.... (and I do not expect to many to share this view)

what the hell these people think this is? it is an outlaw race that is dangerous to both the participants as well as the spectators...

sure she is upset that her dad got taken out but would it have happened if she had not taken her parent and young child to this "event" the lack of judgment is just astounding in my eyes.. It just rings of a criminal that is sorry for his crime....(sorry he got caught that is)

 

[Supergank1]

While I feel bad about the deaths, watching the video of the lady that took her dad and young child to watch the races makes my blood boil....  (and I do not expect to many to share this view)

what the hell these people think this is?  it is an outlaw race that is dangerous to both the participants as well as the spectators...  

sure she is upset that her dad got taken out but would it have happened if she had not taken her parent and young child to this "event"      the lack of judgment is just astounding in my eyes..    It just rings of a criminal that is sorry for his crime....(sorry he got caught that is)

i agree with ya...the father was a grown man and can decide weather he wants to risk his life watching a street race but what bothers me is her bringing the child along at 3am to a street race !!!

 

[GMbusa]

It used to be the one place you heard the most accidents from streetracing was V street in SE DC.  Vst was an industrial area streetracing hotspot that was bumpy as hell but straight for about a 1/2 mile. I was there many a nights watching all types of races around 1990-97'. Anything from a modded white datsun wagon(remember that car?)to literally a ProStock dragcar right off the trailer.  People were alot more level headed back then and had alot more common sense.

I swear the average youth of today has the common sense of a tennis ball.

 

[mr8ball]

I have to say i did a lot of this back in the day. Yes it was crazy but we were young and a lot safer i think. We never let anyone stand out of the car. If so we just did not race. This is sad news but as we all know it will never stop. Prayers for all!!