<![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge - Jalopnik Comments]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge - Jalopnik Comments]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> When I was 19 I managed to get an FF hydraulic suspension Citroen to snap oversteer and jump over the curb twice, all just by using the foot brakes. I'll have to thank my dad for keeping me alive.

aesthari

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> With a slight software tweak, this vehicle is capable of 206 MPH. Thats 302 feet per second! Judging by this kid's questions i would be surprised if he hadn't added this sub $1000 modification in his typical adolescant quest to have the baddest car around.

It does take a while to get there though, but I would bet these guys were doing every bit of 150 when they decided to start slowing...But all the magic engineering in the world can't outsmart the laws of physics...It takes a while for 4 tires to slow 4000+ pounds of car PLUS 1000 pounds of kids...

Wonder why the car pitched sideways though...The M button doesn't disable ABS?

terrapintort

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> It's not like these parents weren't hoons when they were kids. I'm only in my mid-20s and I realize how lucky I was in high school. Some of the crap I did in my BMW 2002...if I had an M5, well, you can see the photos above.

theeastbaykid

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Kid bragged about the car.

Kid bragged about his experience behind the wheel..

Deserved everything he got.

exkon

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @JayP71:

Daughter + 16 + Van = may want to rethink. :)

hotshot2002

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @Solo_Racer: It is very likely that the rescue squad did some serious damage to the sheetmetal recovering the remains.

Silverman

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Ultimately, it was this stupid kid's responsibility - 18 means "adult" regardless of his lack of judgement. But it's hardly surprising given his parents (and others) lack of judgement: How does a father rationalize giving his 18 year old boy a 500 horsepower V10 super-sedan? Sadly, it happens all the time with less-expensive Mustang GTs, secondhand IROC Camaros, Corvettes and other machines that are ridiculously innappropriate for younger drivers. Then they die, take a few others with them and the parents are "shocked."

Kuro

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> My first car was an 86 VW Rabbit Diesel I think it had about -80 horses but that car vibrated bad at idol great for the ladies.

Hyruu

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> 1968 Plymouth Belvedere. Slant 6, little engine in a big car. Perfect for the new driver. I was pretty responsible, even with my dads new demos that he would bring home. My older bro, on the other hand...

My kid, should we have one is getting whatever old Volvo I am driving at the time.

CardiffGiant

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @MotownWonker: No, I understand the rate of acceleration on free-falling objects part. Just think that something doesn't quite fit. That's shitload of destruction. James Dean's little aluminum Porsche was in better shape after being punted by a heavy Ford into a telephone pole. Dean was actually doing the speed limit at the time according to Exponent's investigation.
[www.exponent.com]

Solo_Racer

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> You know those defining moments we all have in life?
"ok son, you can drive the M5, but be careful"
You know thats gonna haunt the father for a very long time...

htrodblder

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> There's a QOTD: what is the best learner's car? Driver's training to first two years of driving, what make/model/year/level of equipment to best cut the kid's teeth on and not let him get into too much trouble, while still giving him a fighting chance at getting home in one piece?

My kneejerk suggestion: M1A1 Abrams tank, but with the 1500hp turbine replaced with a 12hp Kubota diesel. You know, for fuel economy.

Elhigh

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @waynecramp: You asked what is the ultimate sleeper? A: it is the daily-driver looking sports sedan that sends you to the Big Dirt Nap.

Elhigh

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> My first car was a 924. I can't think of a better car to learn on. Relatively safe design, superbly well behaved in the corners, manual trans, non-power steering, rear wheel drive (you gotta learn sometime) and _maybe_ 100 horsepower. However, the part is the lack of back seats. I could never get four buddies in that thing, trash talking my driving and goading me into doing stuff more stupid than what than I already did.

It also looked so much better than anything any other high school kids in my area were driving at the time, even with the hideous paint.

ppiddyp

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> My first car: 1975 Mustang II, 4-banger w/ maybe 90hp. Best friend's car: 1963 Corvette split window coupe w/ a built 327. Same deal: rich dad provided his 16yo kid with way too much car. We scared ourselves silly just once, and then S got a VW van. This experience causes me to retain a shred of sympathy for those kids. Too bad they flunked physics.

rocketrodeo

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @944turb0: Praizze JEEEZUSS-AH!

wonkydonky

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Phew. It wasn't a E39.

944turb0

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> my brother and I learned to drive in the 77 Caprice Classic wagon, metallic blue. I mention it here only because when he was 14, he tried to sneak out with the car, which was parked alongside the garage, where the yard sloped way down toward the woods.

When it started to roll forward--apparently it was in D, not R--he panicked and slammed on the brake, only it was the gas.

That sucker took off from a dead start and cleared 20' of retaining walls as it bounded down into the woods. They had to tow it out through a neighbor's yard.

It ran fine. My brother is still alive, though I think he was grounded until about two weeks ago.

dotorg greg

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> And to think I elected to take automechanics instead of physics in high school. Stupid me !

ONSLAUGHT

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @Solo_Racer: I think we're in agreement that the tree + branches + spinning M5 made for a spectacular crash, no doubt about that.
And, I agree that detailed measurements of the distance/height of the vehicle/impact will help the FHP nail down the launch speed.
But, unless the folks on the scene really messed up their estimates, the numbers should come in pretty close to the napkin calcs:
It still takes a car/brick/apple 2.09 seconds to fall vertically from 85 to 15 feet, whether or not it is moving forward or starting at rest. To travel 200ft in 2.09 seconds the BMW would have been traveling at 68mph. 68mph forward plus 44mph downward equals about 75mph forward/down.
If the M5 were traveling at 100mph, it would have either: 1) hit a tree 200ft away 50ft up, or 2) hit 15ft up a tree 300ft away.
Don't take my word for it, check out Prof. Miller at the 4:25 mark in this video:
[www.youtube.com]

MotownWonker

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> save the m5`s!

Stuntdriver

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @DoctorNine: The 250cc remark reminds me of a conversation I had with my uncle, who had wrecked a sportbike and consequently has a donor bone in his right forearm:

"So Bill, whats a good sportbike for a beginner?"

"Not a sportbike."

facingtraffic

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @SCHM: Well said. Although there are plenty of adults out there who scare the hell out of me too.

Armand Bengle

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @WHEELS OF SATAN: Many Jalops would consider your son pretty darn cool for driving a 240D. Not that that will make him feel any better about driving a 3500-pound, 75-horsepower piece of German schteel.

Armand Bengle

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I have about zero faith in most teen drivers. And im one. And im the biggest hypocritical ass, i know. But some of the things these kids are doing, texting, playing with the radio, basically ignoring the rules of the road completely-and scaring the hell out of me. They scare the shit out of me.

This kid here, well little Johnny got a bit too many ponies and a bit to much courage/stupidity, and five people died b/c of this prat.

Schm, lord of Torques!

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Too bad they didn't add the huge ricer wing and aerodynamic kit. Maybe it won't have taken off the ground like that. Sometimes, it's good to be a ricer.

superbmtsub

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Yep same here :
Learned in the Merc 240D, 74 Toyota Corona wagon, 76 Cutlass Sedan, 85 EuroSport and then was ready for the 86 Buick Regal Turbo .

It's tragic for sure, but it could have been averted.

Littlebitsofpaper

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @JayP71: Oh, don't do that to the poor girl, it'll make her hate cars.

A ton of my friends learned to drive in old volvo tanks, I learned on an 85 Cressida. (Which, I'm told that after I went to college, it's engine caught fire.)

cq

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> [youtube.com]

djsupersoul

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> My Dad said there are two types of guys
-Ones who survive adolescence,
-Ones who don't.

LandofMinos, Don't you fucking look at me!

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @p161911: That was my first vehicle, an out-of-its-prime Towncar. Wouldn't you know my second job in high school was as a courier... the only thing that made it even remotely economical was that I got reimbursed very generously for mileage.

On the plus side, it had lots of character, made me immediately identifiable around town to my friends ("hey look, it's the Nimitz!")... and I really appreciated the absurd quantities of steel in it when some other kid ran a stop sign and t-boned me.

It wasn't the most exciting car to drive, and in terms of economy it was pretty dismal, but if two important measures of a vehicle' safety in the hands of a teenager are generous crumple zones and inability to go faster than the speed limit without an inordinate amount of effort, it was probably the safest thing for me to be in as a young new driver.

ThrashDog

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> my kid wanted a fast car when he hit 16
like his spoiled suburban buddies ( who had a WRX STi, golf R32's, etc)
he got a

240 diesel benz...
which would barely go 80 with the pedal down to the metal ...

he fucked up on driving,
and he was walkin
and the benz was back in the driveway, rusting away...

they say " the sins of the father are not visited upon the son"
but this kid's greatest sin was having a
spineless loser shitbird dad

the father was an idiot

the kid died for it....

wheels OF satan!

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I had a 52 hp '84 Ford Escort diesel and then a 225 hp '87 Mustang GT in high school...both 5sp manuals--never got into any trouble with either car..I guess I learned careful driving early.

cubical

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @DuraAce: Lift? I didn't say anything about lift.

Solo_Racer

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> 185hp Buick Electra Limited - 1978.

About the craziest hooning we could get up to were doughnuts in the school parking lot - although I did a very nice 180 in a turn once - ended up going the other way in the correct lane.

These kids unfortunately had less parental guidance than they did restraint. Glad my parents cared enough to scare caution into me when I was too young to learn it on my own.

CaliforniaCajun

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @turbodan: My 2nd car (of only 3) was an 1985 NA Z31... i love that car to this day, even when the AC COmpressor would leak into the passenger carpet. Lots of fun... until I was cut just over the crest of a hill in Narragansett, RI and slid into a rock wall... The car sat for the summer, then I had the body straightened a bit and a few other pieces fixed... but eventually the cooling system blew up and a number of other things were wrong with the car, that i had to let it go...

Ω ß®ªғғ

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @Solo_Racer: I don't think an M5 has much lift.

DuraAce

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @danhar2: 86 Chevy Cavalier with the same craptastic 3-speed auto (TH125, I do believe) here. I even had (single-point) fuel injection, woo hoo! Still damned if I could break 100. That car taught me how to wrench (thanks, GM). I thanked my parents by promptly selling it when I graduated high school and buying my Z31 300ZX Turbo. Had I started my driving career on the Z, I likely would not be around today to post this :-)

turbodan

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @JSmith53: Yeah, that twin turbo Volvo is just about perfect.

waynecramp

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @spaceman7: That very well could be it, but I've always felt the ultimate sleeper must be a wagon, preferably foreign with forced induction, perhaps a turbo V8 or a supercharged 6 out of an early 90's T-Bird.

The thought of a mundane looking Swedish wagon making racer-boys cry appeals to me in a way that violating civil rights must appeal to John Ashcroft....

waynecramp

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @MotownWonker: I'm sorry, but I made an account just to say that your math is totally off. How did you get that it would've taken 1.36 seconds to hit the tree? There's no mention of an angle of trajectory, only an initial velocity in one dimension. So, you couldn't possibly have calculated that number, because you don't know how long the car was in the air. Even, if you have used 100mph as your initial velocity, and calculated the time it would have taken the car to hit the tree in one dimension, that number would be too low, because x=vt+.5at^2 (there is no acceleration while they're airborne so you can cross out .5at^2). Also, for the same reasons, your formula "h=.5gt^2" makes no sense. You're trying to calculate the freefall of the car, but you don't take into account its initial upward velocity (which solo_racer has astutely brought to your attention already). Because the car hit a bump in the airstrip, there must have been some velocity directed upward, so the equation must be "h=vt + .5gt^2." In any case, why does it matter where he hit the tree? 0.o The fact is, he hit it at a high enough velocity to completely shred his car, and kill himself and all his passengers.

ToseiKai

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @jolietjake: Dark, no other lights, very high rate of speed, stability and traction control set to the highest thresholds. Slam on brakes, get car into a sideways [cops didn't say how sideways] skid. Then shoot off the end of the runway at whatever speed wasn't scrubbed off by the the skid.

Solo_Racer

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I have gone very fast in some cars, but my own cars have always been relatively underpowered. That fact has saved me untold tickets and hassle. I do go fast around turns - the old "double it and add ten" on exit and entrance ramps - that's always good fun, even if it is an unachieved goal.

way_down_east

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @jolietjake: You're joking, right?

workingonyourinvoice

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> My first car was a 1969 Firebird 400w/Hurst 4-speed. Got it when I was 16, I remember racing a Boss 429 Mustang ,I had three buddies in the car, no seatbelts,When the Boss passed me, I was doing around 140 (indicated), and reaching for the joint,,,ah , such is youth !

IZQQMX2

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @MotownWonker: When real measurements are taken, I'll believe a lower figure.

"I think that fully loaded car at 75mph versus oak tree branches makes for more damage than we are used to seeing on the blacktop."

And that's exactly the kind of accident I'm talking about. Not a two-car collision; a single car into a solid object, tree or 24-inch diameter, concrete-anchored freeway sign upright, concrete barrier without Fitch barrels.

You might be right, but I would not be surprised if the speed at impact was higher. It wouldn't take much more velocity, maybe only 10 mph. BTW, your calculation is based on free-falling objects that started in a position of rest. Can you really consider a vehicle traveling at 100 mph as being in a position of rest?

Solo_Racer

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> fuck it, dude. let's go bowling

NICKNICK

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @waynecramp:

[jalopnik.com]

I have another 740 that I'm going to drop a V8 in as when I get the time (and a garage).

Also, check out:
[www.cardomain.com]

JSmith53

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Kids in fast cars has always been fatal. Actually, kids (males) in underpowered cars often end up dead too by making bad judgements.

Driving school helps, lots of non-life threatening ER visits sometimes lets the message sink in too. Racing karts is the best, start them at age 5. They turn out to be excellent drivers by the time they're 16 and on the road.

sofong

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I just don't get how he ran off the end of the runway at that speed. I mean, there is a gas pedal and a brake pedal. When approaching object at a high rate of speed, use the one on the left. Even my 8 year old can figur this out in a go-kart.

jolietjake

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Had a kid (17yo) on the R32 forums a while ago come back from a near total of his '04, which his parents bought for him new when he turned 16. He was asking how to hot rod it further, since he got a lot of insurance money, and now was a great opportunity to trick it out.

I told him to sell it.

Truth is, it's best to learn to bike on a 250cc offroad machine, and drive in a lard-bucket sedan. Moving to too much machine too fast is buying a death sandwich, and it's hard to resist the urge to take a bite, intentionally or accidentally.

DoctorNine makes tires squeal in terror

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @spaceman7: Or KITTS Emergency Braking System that would take him outta Super-Pursuit Mode and slow him..........GOD! I'm a geek!

Mysterious Utility Bento

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @waynecramp: Ultimate Sleeper: [www.autoblog.com]

wonkydonky

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @Solo_Racer: Sorry, but do the math...If you want to believe that the M5 left the runway going 100mph, then it would have taken 1.36 seconds to fly and hit a tree 200ft away. In that same 1.36 seconds, the Beemer would have fallen h=.5*g*t^2 = (.5)*(32)*(1.36^2) =~ 30ft. So, the car would have hit about 80ft-30ft = 50ft up the tree; the police on the scene are saying it hit about 15ft up. It don't add up.
I think that fully loaded car at 75mph versus oak tree branches makes for more damage than we are used to seeing on the blacktop.

MotownWonker

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Unfortunately, the current M5 does not have the pop-out wings and pneumatic vault-jacks that the original Mach 5 did. They might have just flown over the trees, otherwise.
Yet another high-speed death in pursuit of the elusive Racer X.

wonkydonky

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Did it strike anyone else that if BMW had given the E60 M5 a proper manual instead of its electronic gearbox, this guy wouldn't even have been able to drive the car? Score one for the E28 M5, or CONNORW's 535i. Clutch pedals are a good way to keep bad drivers out of fast cars.

Armand Bengle

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Have you ever been driving along late at night and find your headlights illuminating ... nothing?

I was driving in Philadelphia on a main through-road during the daytime once when the power went out to that section of the city and all of the traffic lights were blank. I guess you're supposed to come to a complete stop at every intersection in that situation but nobody was even slowing down. Cars on the side streets were getting backed up and then making desperate dashes across the throughway in between traffic. It was seriously dangerous. I mean, when you've got no signal at all, that normally means go and it took me awhile to register what was wrong - especially not being familiar with the territory.

So when you unexpectedly come up on a whole lot of nothing at high speed, the time it takes to register the danger in addition to the time it takes to brake to a stop is going to be completely out of proportion to the amount of roadway you have left.

nytmare

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @JSmith53: Any chance i could stuff an enormous V8 under the hood? I have been thinking for weeks about the next project, and I think I'm leaning towards the "Ultimate Sleepe. I want something the silly boys in their Hondas with tailpipes the size of coffee cans laugh at.... until they see nothing but tail lights.

Of course, that brings up a very interesting question: what is the "Ultimate Sleeper"???

waynecramp

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @dmcspeedy:
I bet this kid was trying to hit the top speed limiter.

Papercutninja

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> You think they had time to do a collective "oh shit" as they were flying though the air?

htrodblder

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @LTDScott: I, too, had the pleasure of spending my formative driving days in a Celebrity (I think it was an 85). However, my stepdad went all out and got the Eurosport edition -- 130 hp of all-black badness. Or so I tried to convince myself, still bitter he didn't get the Audi 5000 Turbo I wanted.

Vizzini

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I started in a '64 Tempest coupe, 6-cyl powerglide, and nearly killed myself trying to keep up with all my friends with faster cars, it was totalled (actually not my fault) while I was building a 500+ hp 428 for it (probably a good thing) so I bought my dads e28 535i at 18, immediately got two huge speeding tickets, gave up the shenanigans, and 9 years later I'm still driving it, what a great car

ConnorW

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> 5 people dead because someone wanted to show off in his daddy's car. It's unfair to all parties involved. This underscores two of my requirements for a good hoon: 1) survive and 2) not hurt anyone else.

CARBOMB

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @JayP71:

Give her the van! My high school car was a 91 Grand Voyager in metallic baby blue. Suffice to say I had no problems with speeding tickets or long relationships.

Ted Striker

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I had the pleasure of driving a 91 Pontiac 6000. Think it had about 150hp but it felt fast. The only problem was that the dashboard would vibrate so violently over 70mph I was more worried the dash would snap off rather than crash the car.

Though having such a heavy front end made it really easy to hammer on the gas and brake to get the front end really hopping.

jayomatic

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I did my youthful penance in Ford pickups... mostly a 1987 F-350 diesel crew cab 4x4. Swapped in 3.55 gears for the stock 4.10's and afterwards it hit a mighty 82 mph. Only took Monday and part of Tuesday to get there too!

OrangeBoss9

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> They flew further then the Wright Flyer 1's first flight!

Ω ß®ªғғ

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> My 1987 Honda Prelude was fun (as my first car)... but not as fun as my father's 1997 Mercury Cougar (RWD & 4.6L V8 in New England rain and snow), which I drove before I got my own car.

Ω ß®ªғғ

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> He promised pictures in his last post, I wonder how long before they surface. I wouldn't be surprised to see a video of the night in question emerge. I guess it all depends on the recording media, and I've heard of SD cards surviving much worse conditions than this.

workingonyourinvoice

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Incidentally, what kind of speed could an M5 reach from standing on a 1.5 mile runway? I think speeds in the 140s were mentioned on the other thread. The news report said they'd been making multiple passes, and wondering if they were trying to hit 150mph, say, before hitting the brakes. And then pushed their luck too far.

dmcspeedy

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> having a crappy car just makes the hoonage more creative. anyone can have fun in an M5, but do you have the balls to make a Lumina interesting?

every time i smell burnt transmission fluid, i think of that car.

dh86sj

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I really truly hope the knee jerk politicians dont start lining up with ridiculous legislation as a result of this.

Id really hate to see everyone suffer because of a few hoons who vaporized themselves.

danio3834

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> My car when I was 16 was a Monte Carlo SS. Only halfway hoonworthy at the stock 180hp, it became a fully life endangering hoon mobile after some bolt-ons that brought it to approx 300hp.

Its was no M5, but it was plenty to hang er sideways at every turn.

danio3834

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @brandegee: there's not much evasive action you can take once you're airborne off an 80-foot berm at 90mph, even in an M5.

Reminds me of a story I heard where a girl was passed at very high speed on an uneven surface by a brand new Elise. The Elise hits a bump, loses control, flies up and over a 30-foot embankment at the side of the road. The girl, freaking out, slams on the brakes, pulls over, and scrambles up the steep embankment, not knowing what scene of carnage is going to greet her.

Girl is surprised to find the Elise, still in one piece, floating in a canal. The driver has the top down, and is now standing up in his Lotus-engineered fibreglass dinghy (which is taking on rather a lot of water) and shouting in panic "What do I do? What do I do?". Girl advises the driver to swim for it, which he reluctantly does. Hope he enjoyed filling in the insurance report on that one.

(I'd love to believe that's an unembellished account, the person who told me claims to work with the girl in question).

dmcspeedy

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @LTDScott: Well, on the bright side, The Man won't be collecting on this fine:

"01/23/2008 5243SKU 1 VIOLATION OF TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE"

danio3834

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Learned to drive in a 1970 Olds 98 with a 455. Dad never bothered to balance the tires. Massive torque made it a lot of fun up to about 45 MPH, when the shaking reminded me how tender life really was.

Anyway, hope the parents of the driver won the popularity contest!

Beluga

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @Solo_Racer: The other Jalopnik thread, that is.

Solo_Racer

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I had the perfect teenager car. A 1988 red Chrysler Lebaron. 2.5L 4Cyl with just about 100HP by the time I got a hold of it (2000). It was fun, good on gas, girls always thought it was cooler than it actually was, and I couldn't get into this kind of trouble.

TokaStyle

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> The thread in question: [www.m5board.com]

knute

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> On the other thread, someone arrived at a speed of 68 mph when they left the runway and about 78 mph when they hit the tree. The picture above refutes that. You don't get that kind of mass destruction and ripping of the steel structure at highway speeds.

Solo_Racer

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @bigringd: Tom Cruise can't save you: [www.youtube.com]

no_slushbox

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> 102hp GTI, here. On top of that, getting into a low-speed, at-fault fender bender within my first month scared me straight. Well, that and my dad's threat that I'd be paying for my own insurance if I got any more tickets.

Knock on wood, but I still haven't had a ticket since.

hwyengr

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> If the van is a rockin u better come a knockin.@JayP71:

GDUB

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Sad story. Wierd that they at least took the precaution of attempting their high speed run on a private runway instead of a public highway and still went flying off it. If I ever have a sports car and teen aged sons I am keeping the keys in a safe.

Teds

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @lemondriver: Too bad Tom Cruise wasn't visiting his follow $cientologi$t. Maybe HE could have done something...
[gawker.com]

e30 guy

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I read the article and it was clearly obvious to forum members that he was an accident waiting to happen. If that kind of foreshadowing took place in a moving, people would dismiss it as overdone.

Didn't have to wait long, either.

NovaloadMissesPolar

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> i have to give it to the kid - he had a speedy car, but drove it crazily on a runway away from civilian traffic. sorry he died, but accidents happen, and at least he didn't endanger anyone who didn't make the consious choice to sit in the seat next to him.

drewheyman

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Retarded kids. I hope their parents are proud of themselves for enabling this kind of behavior.

Pete Gaines

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Wow, found this from another automotive site... the driving records of all the occupants who died:

Josh Ammirato:
05/08/2006 1365EFW 1 UNLAWFUL SPEED 20-29 MPH
06/05/2006 6345SEZ 1 DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUSPENDED
06/05/2006 6344SEZ 1 UNLAWFUL SPEED 1-9 MPH
01/23/2008 5243SKU 1 VIOLATION OF TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE

James Hime:
01/10/2005 4211DIB 1 VIOLATION OF TRAFFIC CONTROL DEVICE
07/26/2005 5014DLB 1 UNLAWFUL SPEED ON MUNICIPAL ROAD 15-19 MPH
12/13/2006 3592EFV 1 ATTACH UNASSIGNED TAG TO VEHICLE
01/02/2007 0320EWE 1 UNLAWFUL SPEED ON MUNICIPAL ROAD 15-19 MPH

Dustin Dawe:
12/21/2007 8968EZD 1 UNLAWFUL SPEED ON MUNICIPAL ROAD 15-19 MPH

Isaac Rubin:
07/24/2006 1261SEW 1 INSURANCE-NO PROOF OF
07/24/2006 1259SEW 1 CARELESS DRIVING
07/24/2006 1260SEW 1 DRIVER LICENSE-NO PROOF OF
01/10/2008 5581SKU 1 INSURANCE-NO PROOF OF
01/24/2008 5580SKU 1 DRIVING WHILE LICENSE SUSPENDED REVOKED

LTDScott, Porcubimmer pilot

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @Andrewpetty: Or just another night for your average 59 year old in the Netherlands.

no_slushbox

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I love the year of the lemming.

-chet

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @evolwun: I have an '87 740 GLE I'll sell you for $700.

JSmith53

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @danhar2: My folks baulked at the thought of an E30 316i, refusing on the grounds of service costs, so I was rocking a 60hp FIAT Punto when I was 18. I could've even ended myself in that if I'd tried hard enough.

I remember overcooking a bend on a coast road one night, which was quite scary. If I'd been going a bit harder, I'd probably have lost the back end, which would have led to shredding the car on some jagged rocks and ploughing into the sea. Nice.

Euromobile

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> hmm... as much as I wish my car was safe because it only had 80hp...i cant, I had a geo tracker (2 door hard top). which meant a small wind could have made fly on the bay bridge. now i enjoy my 160hp from my mazda3..

jomil91

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @p161911:
see my post about my first hoontastic car!

jakay11

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @evolwun: ...and most parents would prefer their kids drive cars that are tragically uncool. I got the family wagon ('70 Custom 500). Two years later, when my sister turned 16, we de-commissioned grandma's '70 New Yorker hard-top sedan (metallic gold, black vinyl roof. and white leather interior. Something like 20k miles on the odo). Sis turned up her nose, and when I offered to trade her the wagon, she turned up her nose even higher. The New Yorker was traded for a low-mileage Subu 4-door...

Charles_Barrett - Now with Variable-Valve Timing

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> 127hp 350 Chebby V8 w/ a suck-tastic 2-barrel carb. in a 5000+lb impala wagon (there was nothing light or hoontastic about it, except what you could do in the back)

Why do you think Mustangs and Camaros cost so much to insure?

jakay11

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @teargas: Might want to get a new tranny. I hear that one shifts kinda hard at 140 mph.

cyclopticgaze

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @elhigh: My first car was an 86 Celebrity with the same 90-hp Iron Duke. I remember burying the speedo needle below visible portion of the gauge (it was a long 85-mph speedo). I could have fcuked myself up bad at that speed, heh.

LTDScott, Porcubimmer pilot

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Nobody has mentioned the fact the the parents of this kid have some responsibility here too... I know when I was 18 my father would have never let me and a carload of buddies out at night with a car like that. He would have only let me behind the wheel under a watchful eye or at a closed event like an autocross or track day. Sad thing is the parents will probably sure the owners of the airstrip for not securing it properly, leading to the cause of the death of their son. *rolls eyes*

20vMRToo

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I still think a Malaise era sedan with a big block V-8 with all emissions intact would be the perfect teenage car. Big and much safer than an econobox. 4000lbs., <<10mpg. Make them buy their own gas and they can't get too far from home.

My first was an 81 Buick Regal TURBO 170 HP, somewhat of a sleeper for the late 80's/early 90s.

P161911

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Dibs on that engine!

Comrade Teargaskov

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Kids and speed do not mix. Here in the Charlotte, NC area, drag racer Doug Herbert's 17 and 12 year old sons were killed when the 17 year old driver, on a 4 lane road, tried to pass a vehicle that was in the left lane (crossing the yellow line in the process), lost control and creamed a Hummer traveling in the opposite direction. The 17 year old's brand new MazdaSpeed3 virtually disintregrated killing both instantly.

Mustang lovin' non-redneck...not that there's anything wrong with that.

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @danhar2: And you were flying past me in my 81hp Fox GL. Unless, of course, you could also nudge past 110.

brandegee

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Yet another case study in the inadequacies of America's driver education system. Guy probably learnd on a front-drive Saturn. Accident avoidance maneuvers in a high horsepower BMW? Probably didn't pick that up anywhere.

brandegee

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @evolwun: No kidding. My oldest daughter has started making first car suggestions. She was rather dissapointed when I pointed to our '01 Windstar and said: "When you're 16 I'm buying a new car for Momma and you'll be driving that."

JayP71

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @ash78: Or just another night for your average 59 year old in the Netherlands.

no_slushbox

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> You guys were flying past me in my '84 Skyhawk with 88 horses, rampaging thru a 3 spd auto. My dad said 'absolutely not' to my wish for a '76 Trans Am...thank the gods he did, I got in enough close scrapes in the Buick as it was.

danhar2

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> This is what happens to spoiled rich kids. My children will be getting their choice of any Non-Turbo Volvo under $2000 that their heart desires.

evolwun

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I had too much fun with my 185-horse V6 Camry. Too much fun, as in 130 mph on I-10 in the evening. In a curve. When I was 16.

In retrospect, maybe that was kinda dumb.

A strolling player, now with 100% more Studebaker!

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> @Benson2175: Yep. I had a 115hp Golf. Fun as hell under 50mph, but I'm glad its short legs kept my momentum in check. My BAC% was a different story, however.

The Name's Ash78, Housewares

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Add three nude 19-year old semi-lesbian Ukrainian gymnasts and you have a perfect death scenario.

Andrewpetty

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> (why it's relevant we still don't know). Well, duh. He has a gazillion dollars. He lives nearby. It was OBVIOUSLY his fault.

Call the lawyers.

OctaneBoaster

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> Chevy Citation + Iron Duke + Balky Craptastic 4-spd = The AntiHoon! Thou shalt be a humble driver.

Elhigh

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I had a 200hp Cutlass Supreme when I was 17. Was a little too much fun. I somehow managed a 540 spin of a FWD coupe in the dry...without using the e-brake.

johnnyichiban

]]> <![CDATA[BMW M5 Crash Details Emerge]]> I'm so glad I had a 115hp Accord when I was 18.

Benson2175

]]>