Crash on Indian Head Highway
02-16-08, 10:05 AM
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Crash on Indian Head Highway
Seven people were killed and four were injured early this morning after a driver struck a group of roadside spectators during a high-speed street race on Indian Head Highway in southern Prince George's County, police said.
Six of the dead were hit while watching the race in the dark near Pine Drive and one was a passenger in the white Crown Victoria that struck them about 3 a.m., Prince George's police said. One person also may have been hit by a tractor-trailer unrelated to the street race, said Cpl. Clinton Copeland.
The driver of the older model Crown Victoria was among the injured, Copeland said. Investigators have not released any names or the condition of those injured, he said, but most of those involved appeared to be young men. Police are investigating the possibility that another driver or drivers involved in the race fled the scene because the Crown Victoria was the only one still there when officers arrived, Copeland said.
"It was a very horrific scene with the number of individuals in the road at one time and the amount of debris," Copeland said.
Copeland said the Crown Victoria appeared to have been traveling north on Indian Head Highway before striking the spectators near Pine Drive in Accokeek, which is near the Charles County border. Those hit appeared to have been thrown and the Crown Victoria had run off the road and into an embankment, Copeland said. He said there were skid marks on the pavement from where the driver apparently tried to stop.
He said police are still trying to determine how large a crowd had gathered when the incident happened and are assuming that many fled in fear. He said the number of those still at the scene when officers arrived, "sure implied they were there watching an event." The tractor trailer driver, who was not seriously injured, stayed and spoke with investigators, Copeland said. The truck driver came upon the scene after the street race collision, he said.
He said it's too early to determine any criminal charges.
"Investigators on the scene are trying to piece together exactly what happened," Copeland said. "There are a lot of questions we still need answers to.'
Indian Head Highway is a popular destination for street racers, Copeland said, because it is a straightaway with traffic lights spaced far apart. However, he said, street racers in that area are more typically on motorcycles.
"The way the road is set up, it's definitely enticing for someone who wants to see how fast their vehicle can go," Copeland said.
He said police have used radar and speed traps in the area. "It's not like it's a situation the department is not aware of," he said.
"From www.washingtonpost.com"
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Six of the dead were hit while watching the race in the dark near Pine Drive and one was a passenger in the white Crown Victoria that struck them about 3 a.m., Prince George's police said. One person also may have been hit by a tractor-trailer unrelated to the street race, said Cpl. Clinton Copeland.
The driver of the older model Crown Victoria was among the injured, Copeland said. Investigators have not released any names or the condition of those injured, he said, but most of those involved appeared to be young men. Police are investigating the possibility that another driver or drivers involved in the race fled the scene because the Crown Victoria was the only one still there when officers arrived, Copeland said.
"It was a very horrific scene with the number of individuals in the road at one time and the amount of debris," Copeland said.
Copeland said the Crown Victoria appeared to have been traveling north on Indian Head Highway before striking the spectators near Pine Drive in Accokeek, which is near the Charles County border. Those hit appeared to have been thrown and the Crown Victoria had run off the road and into an embankment, Copeland said. He said there were skid marks on the pavement from where the driver apparently tried to stop.
He said police are still trying to determine how large a crowd had gathered when the incident happened and are assuming that many fled in fear. He said the number of those still at the scene when officers arrived, "sure implied they were there watching an event." The tractor trailer driver, who was not seriously injured, stayed and spoke with investigators, Copeland said. The truck driver came upon the scene after the street race collision, he said.
He said it's too early to determine any criminal charges.
"Investigators on the scene are trying to piece together exactly what happened," Copeland said. "There are a lot of questions we still need answers to.'
Indian Head Highway is a popular destination for street racers, Copeland said, because it is a straightaway with traffic lights spaced far apart. However, he said, street racers in that area are more typically on motorcycles.
"The way the road is set up, it's definitely enticing for someone who wants to see how fast their vehicle can go," Copeland said.
He said police have used radar and speed traps in the area. "It's not like it's a situation the department is not aware of," he said.
"From www.washingtonpost.com"
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02-16-08, 12:12 PM
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Yeah I just heard about this earlier today. 
I really really hope its no one I know. Please be safe everyone and use common sense when it come to driving dont be an ***. 
-Smitty
I really really hope its no one I know. Please be safe everyone and use common sense when it come to driving dont be an ***. -Smitty
02-17-08, 05:38 AM
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I knew some people that were down there but they left like 2 hours before this happened. Basically two other cars were running they staged burned out took off a crowd gathered in right where they launched from in the smoke and stuff. Drunk driver in crown vic with no lights on came up on scene and plowed crowd.
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02-18-08, 08:27 AM
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Supposedly, the Crown Vic driver wasn't drunk at all. You can bet they did toxicology testing on the 20 year old driver. He was on his way home from picking his brother up from somewhere, smoke did not impair his view.
It was pitch black outside, your cruising down Indian Head.....your not looking out for a bus load of people standing in the middle of the road.
What happened was absolutely terrible and should not have happened but those people standing out on that highway were at fault. What surprised me were the ages of the 8 people who were killed. 61, 52, 39 and so on. These were grown adults who should known better.
It was pitch black outside, your cruising down Indian Head.....your not looking out for a bus load of people standing in the middle of the road.
What happened was absolutely terrible and should not have happened but those people standing out on that highway were at fault. What surprised me were the ages of the 8 people who were killed. 61, 52, 39 and so on. These were grown adults who should known better.
02-18-08, 09:12 AM
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Supposedly, the Crown Vic driver wasn't drunk at all. You can bet they did toxicology testing on the 20 year old driver. He was on his way home from picking his brother up from somewhere, smoke did not impair his view.
It was pitch black outside, your cruising down Indian Head.....your not looking out for a bus load of people standing in the middle of the road.
What happened was absolutely terrible and should not have happened but those people standing out on that highway were at fault. What surprised me were the ages of the 8 people who were killed. 61, 52, 39 and so on. These were grown adults who should known better.
It was pitch black outside, your cruising down Indian Head.....your not looking out for a bus load of people standing in the middle of the road.
What happened was absolutely terrible and should not have happened but those people standing out on that highway were at fault. What surprised me were the ages of the 8 people who were killed. 61, 52, 39 and so on. These were grown adults who should known better.
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