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Feb 20, 2008 11:33 pm US/Eastern
Insider Reveals Dangers Of Street Racing
ACCOKEEK, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Eight people were killed in a street racing crash Saturday morning in Prince George's County.
Street racing. It's dangerous and illegal. Cars are hitting triple-digit speeds on roads across Maryland packed with thrill seekers.
Mike Hellgren reports the risks turned real on Route 210 in Accokeek. Eight people were killed and five more were injured in a street racing crash early Saturday morning.
Exclusive video captured one of the races held minutes before.
The race cars had just passed the crowd and, as people watched their taillights, a Ford Crown Victoria came from the other direction, slamming into the spectators. The driver was unaware anyone was in the road.
"People screaming, running around. It was chaos," said an insider who witnessed the crash.
The insider is a former street racer. He asked
Eyewitness News not to identify him because the races are illegal. He says he knew immediately something was very wrong.
"Normally, they pull two trailer trucks into the road and back them up 40 feet, block off both lanes. Everybody's communicating, and they've got people telling people to stay back," he said.
That didn't happen this time.
"They had people standing right on the edge of the road. It was just crazy," he said.
The insider has been to dozens of races and reveals what really goes on.
The cars are high-tech and expensive.
"They're $40,000-$80,000 pro-stock cars. These cars got parachutes, you know wheelie bars, fire extinguishers, roll cage," he said. "You're talking cars that run 140 to 180 miles an hour."
Organizers listen to scanners and post lookouts, constantly watching for police.
"By the time these guys are down the road, the police have lost sight of them, and you can't catch them," he said.
But there's a dirty, little secret.
"Cops have been here and watched it before. Friends of the racers who are paramedics come down here in plain clothes, but they keep their bags and stuff with them. And there's usually a medic or two EMTs here. Of course, they can't bring an ambulance here," he said.
Paramedics and police strongly deny such claims. What's undeniable is the danger and attraction these races hold.
"I've seen crowds up to 300 or 400 people here on a good summer night," the insider said.
Fans are connected by text messages and the Internet.
"Everybody know when a race is going to happen," the insider said.
Everybody also knows the risk.
AAA says street racing deaths nationwide shot up 87 percent in one year. Forty-nine people are injured for every thousand who participate.
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