Joshua, you beat me to it. Josh and I were actually having this conversation the other night. It's one thing to speed, but it's another to race/show off, whatever you want to call it or do. It is fun, it gives you a rush, no doubt about it. However, when I was a freshman in high school I witnessed something that changed my life and my opinion on irresponsible street racing. This about 9 years ago when this happened. In fact Mikhail died on October 19th. Here is the link of the accident.Originally Posted by JoshMcMadMac
http://www.angelfire.com/nc/mpm3/mike.html
At my school we could go off-campus for lunch. I was riding in the back seat with 3 other friends. Up ahead I saw a Red Ford Probe flying, and what I believe was a Black Dodge Avenger. Although street racing was ruled out of this case, it sure as hell looked like it to me. Once I got my license maybe a year and a half later I drove this road where the accident occured almost everyday. I could barely do 50 on it with my Talon, let alone a Ford Probe that was doing 80!!! The Probe just went straight.... straight into a pole. All I saw was a body fly through the windshield. It ended up being JR (Dennis Shrewsberry.) Of course we stopped and ran to the scene along with every other car on the road at that time. Scrambled to find a phone (cells weren't too popular yet.) My friend, Candice, who was in the car with me, held JR in her arms as he bleed all over the place. I didn't know what do, i was 14 and so confused, but people that got out from other cars were just yelling at anyone to help and put pressure on their wounds. Mikhail, the driver, couldn't be reached. You could see him, but the car was crumpled around him. He needed the jaws of life to get him out. To be honest, I thought it was useless because, like everyone else there, we already thought he was dead. Look at the picture in the report, and you can see for yourself. The paramedics arrived and took over within a few minutes of the accident. A few days later Mikhail died.
I didn't know Mikhail, but I played JV football at the time with JR, and Borris. I doubt anyone could truly understand what I saw that day unless they've seen something like it before. I just don't want anyone to have to be in a car like that.
You had your friends in your car and you are putting their lives in danger when you do things like you did. If Mikhail would've survived, and one of the others died, how could he live with himself knowing he made a deadly irresponsible mistake. To be honest, I fear the guilt more than I fear dieing.
Do I street race? Yes, I do! I won't lie about it. Do I do it in stupid circumstances? Depending on how you look at it, No! Short roads, etc. forget it. Even when I do race on a roll on the highway or something, I think afterwards... "man, that was so stupid, what was I thinking?" However, I go straight, and I don't keep going as fast as I can, I will stop. I don't ride people when I drive, I don't floor it if there are cars ahead of me
I will never ever race someone with someone else in the car! I won't even race them if they have someone in the car!
Another story, and this was a few years ago. I was driving, my girlfriend was in the passenger seat. This Altima was driving so wreckless, swerving in and out of traffic, flying, riding people. I remember it having an exhaust and blacked out tails. Even though my g/f was in the car I said "this guy needs to be shown a real car." DSM pride, right? He punches it and I chase him down. We hit some traffic so we never got a chance to really see who was faster, and to be honest thank God we didn't. As we drive by him when he hit traffic my girlfriend screams "THERE IS A F***ING BABY IN THE CAR!!!"
Imagine if he would've wrecked while racing me and a child dies. It didn't happen and I still feel guilty just for initiating it!
When I think back to the situation I wish I would've got his license plate and reported him. I would've been 100% honest with the police too. "Officer, I was trying to race him, he started to go, and I noticed......" Something like that... just... I can't explain.
I'm 23 and when I look at Mikhails picture he looks so young. I'm 23 and he looks YOUNG!
You won't understand until about 4-5 years after you graduate from high school, but you all look young! You all look real young comapared even to a 19, 20 year old. I was working in the hospital yesterday and 2 young girls, probably 15, 16 asked my colleague, my friend Vivian, and I where the emergency room was. After we took them to it we looked at each other and were like "did we really look that young n high school? I can't believe how young we were..."
I hope this somewhat inspires you take make better choices in the future. Not to say that what you did was such a big deal, but show boating ends in disaster some of the time, and when you graduate high school, it starts making you look more like a jerk to girls than a bad ass.
If you happen to land that girl, just don't be stupid with her in a car with you, or anyone! Before you think about doing something, think about the guilt that could come out of it.... if it effects you.
Sorry for ranting and story telling. I just care about you all! I wouldn't be going to school to work in the medical field if I didn't care about people.
