L8 APEX
06-16-2003, 11:45 PM
His parents are blaming the movie 2fast2furious on their 17yr old son decapitating himself in daddy's C5 while street racing in Miami. See if the article copies. he was a offier's son to boot:hammer:
Teen driver killed in morning street race
BY SOFIA SANTANA AND JUSTIN WILLETT
ssantana@herald.com
http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/6085/37032517950.jpg
CRASH SPOT: State troopers and Florida Power & Light workers on Friday look over the crash scene on Southwest Eighth Street. TIM CHAPMAN/HERALD STAFF
A Southwest Miami-Dade teenager lost his life in a street race Friday morning, underscoring what police say is the growing popularity of a competition that has killed at least eight other people in South Florida in three years. William Lacasse Jr., 17, was killed while racing east on Southwest Eighth Street against the drivers of two other cars about 12:30 a.m. Friday, Florida Highway Patrol investigators said. Lacasse, the son of a police officer in South Bay in Palm Beach County, died when he lost control of a silver 1999 Corvette at Southwest 79th Avenue, crashing into a concrete electrical pole and shattering the car, police said. Lacasse's family is blaming the movie, The Fast and the Furious, joining a chorus of police and parents who have been voicing concern about the movie's influence on teens and the growing street-racing culture. The sequel to the 2001 movie, 2 Fast 2 Furious, was released June 6. ''He saw the movie The Fast and the Furious, and it's movies like this that promote racing in the street,'' Michael Liberti, a family spokesman, told a WFOR-CBS 4 reporter from the front porch of the Lacasse home in Southwest Miami-Dade. ``He was respected by everybody, his peers, his friends, and he was a great kid.'' The family declined to comment. On Friday afternoon, skid marks spanned the three eastbound lanes where the accident occurred. Florida Power & Light crews worked to replace the concrete utility pole that snapped when the Corvette struck it.
A CHALLENGE Witnesses told police that the race began when two cars, possibly late-model Mitsubishis, passed Lacasse and activated their hazard lights, which supposedly signifies a challenge to race. ''The Corvette sped up, either in an attempt to race or to catch up with these vehicles,'' said Lt. Julio Pajon, an FHP spokesman. After losing control of his car, Lacasse collided with the utility pole, which is just east of a Texaco gas station at 7850 SW Eighth St. Lacasse was thrown from the car. Police are looking for the drivers of the other vehicles, who fled after the crash. Pajon said investigators don't yet know how fast Lacasse was going or whether he had any drugs or alcohol in his system.
CAR CLUB HANGOUT The crash happened just blocks from a popular Thursday night car club hangout in the parking lot of a shopping center at Southwest Eighth Street and 107th Avenue. Police believe car enthusiasts meet up there, then drive to parties together. They don't know if Lacasse was there. Thursday is a popular street-racing night because teens know there are more police on the street on Friday nights and on the weekends than on weekdays, police said. Even though police say they do not keep statistics on street-racing incidents, they think it recently has become more popular, especially after the release of movies such as The Fast and the Furious. ''Everyone wants to emulate the movies,'' the FHP's Pajon said. ``Everyone likes to show off their cars, and that includes racing them. ''[The Fast and the Furious] talks about the drivers using nitrous oxide. Some of these kids have that in their cars,'' he said. Lacasse's death comes on the heels of a street-racing crash on the Rickenbacker Causeway on June 8 that sent two children, ages 2 and 3, and four adults to the hospital. All the victims survived. At least eight people have died in street-racing accidents in Broward and Miami-Dade counties since early 2000, police reports show. It was accidents like these that prompted action by police and politicians. In December 2001, Florida troopers arrested 172 people after blocking a one-mile stretch of Okeechobee Road in Northwest Miami-Dade. Troopers had to release all but four of the people with citations because there was no law against drag racing.
NEW BILL After that operation, state Rep. Ralph Arza, R-Hialeah, sponsored a bill making drag racing a misdemeanor offense. A violator may be fined up to $500 and his driver's license can be revoked for a year, with the penalties doubled for a second violation within five years. Arza said he wanted law enforcement to have the tools to combat the problem. ''Drag racing wasn't in the law books,'' he said. ``It's one step toward letting people know that if you're going to try to be the fast and furious on our streets, and you get caught, you're going to pay a price.'' Pajon said the drag-racing law has helped the Highway Patrol, which hopes to stage another crackdown on drag racers soon. ''The law gave us the power to actually arrest these people,'' he said. ''Definitely, we're looking into setting something up like'' the 2001 sting operation. Anyone with information about the two drivers Lacasse was racing may call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.
Teen driver killed in morning street race
BY SOFIA SANTANA AND JUSTIN WILLETT
ssantana@herald.com
http://www.miami.com/images/miami/miamiherald/6085/37032517950.jpg
CRASH SPOT: State troopers and Florida Power & Light workers on Friday look over the crash scene on Southwest Eighth Street. TIM CHAPMAN/HERALD STAFF
A Southwest Miami-Dade teenager lost his life in a street race Friday morning, underscoring what police say is the growing popularity of a competition that has killed at least eight other people in South Florida in three years. William Lacasse Jr., 17, was killed while racing east on Southwest Eighth Street against the drivers of two other cars about 12:30 a.m. Friday, Florida Highway Patrol investigators said. Lacasse, the son of a police officer in South Bay in Palm Beach County, died when he lost control of a silver 1999 Corvette at Southwest 79th Avenue, crashing into a concrete electrical pole and shattering the car, police said. Lacasse's family is blaming the movie, The Fast and the Furious, joining a chorus of police and parents who have been voicing concern about the movie's influence on teens and the growing street-racing culture. The sequel to the 2001 movie, 2 Fast 2 Furious, was released June 6. ''He saw the movie The Fast and the Furious, and it's movies like this that promote racing in the street,'' Michael Liberti, a family spokesman, told a WFOR-CBS 4 reporter from the front porch of the Lacasse home in Southwest Miami-Dade. ``He was respected by everybody, his peers, his friends, and he was a great kid.'' The family declined to comment. On Friday afternoon, skid marks spanned the three eastbound lanes where the accident occurred. Florida Power & Light crews worked to replace the concrete utility pole that snapped when the Corvette struck it.
A CHALLENGE Witnesses told police that the race began when two cars, possibly late-model Mitsubishis, passed Lacasse and activated their hazard lights, which supposedly signifies a challenge to race. ''The Corvette sped up, either in an attempt to race or to catch up with these vehicles,'' said Lt. Julio Pajon, an FHP spokesman. After losing control of his car, Lacasse collided with the utility pole, which is just east of a Texaco gas station at 7850 SW Eighth St. Lacasse was thrown from the car. Police are looking for the drivers of the other vehicles, who fled after the crash. Pajon said investigators don't yet know how fast Lacasse was going or whether he had any drugs or alcohol in his system.
CAR CLUB HANGOUT The crash happened just blocks from a popular Thursday night car club hangout in the parking lot of a shopping center at Southwest Eighth Street and 107th Avenue. Police believe car enthusiasts meet up there, then drive to parties together. They don't know if Lacasse was there. Thursday is a popular street-racing night because teens know there are more police on the street on Friday nights and on the weekends than on weekdays, police said. Even though police say they do not keep statistics on street-racing incidents, they think it recently has become more popular, especially after the release of movies such as The Fast and the Furious. ''Everyone wants to emulate the movies,'' the FHP's Pajon said. ``Everyone likes to show off their cars, and that includes racing them. ''[The Fast and the Furious] talks about the drivers using nitrous oxide. Some of these kids have that in their cars,'' he said. Lacasse's death comes on the heels of a street-racing crash on the Rickenbacker Causeway on June 8 that sent two children, ages 2 and 3, and four adults to the hospital. All the victims survived. At least eight people have died in street-racing accidents in Broward and Miami-Dade counties since early 2000, police reports show. It was accidents like these that prompted action by police and politicians. In December 2001, Florida troopers arrested 172 people after blocking a one-mile stretch of Okeechobee Road in Northwest Miami-Dade. Troopers had to release all but four of the people with citations because there was no law against drag racing.
NEW BILL After that operation, state Rep. Ralph Arza, R-Hialeah, sponsored a bill making drag racing a misdemeanor offense. A violator may be fined up to $500 and his driver's license can be revoked for a year, with the penalties doubled for a second violation within five years. Arza said he wanted law enforcement to have the tools to combat the problem. ''Drag racing wasn't in the law books,'' he said. ``It's one step toward letting people know that if you're going to try to be the fast and furious on our streets, and you get caught, you're going to pay a price.'' Pajon said the drag-racing law has helped the Highway Patrol, which hopes to stage another crackdown on drag racers soon. ''The law gave us the power to actually arrest these people,'' he said. ''Definitely, we're looking into setting something up like'' the 2001 sting operation. Anyone with information about the two drivers Lacasse was racing may call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-8477.