No Tracks = More Street Racing fatalities.

More than 100 people die in California each year as a result of street racing. This is another reason why our efforts with PINKS and 1320X are so important. We need all the help we can get!

latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-fatalcrash29-2008aug29,0,6038563.story
From the Los Angeles Times
Pregnant woman among 3 killed in Eagle Rock crash; street racing blamed
Two passengers are critically injured with severed limbs after their car slammed into a tree at high speed late Wednesday. Police have booked a driver on suspicion of murder.
By Tami Abdollah and Jia-Rui Chong
Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

9:11 AM PDT, August 28, 2008

An illegal street race resulted in the death of a 23-year-old late-term pregnant woman, a 12-year-old girl and a 20-year-old man, and also left two people critically injured with severed limbs when their car slammed into a tree at high speed Wednesday night in Eagle Rock, officials said.

A 19-year-old man who was driving a Mitsubishi involved in the crash was in custody this morning, said Los Angeles police Officer Kate Lopez. He was uninjured and booked on suspicion of murder, said LAPD Officer April Harding, another department spokeswoman.

Police are searching today for another driver they believe was involved in street racing but who fled from the scene after the crash, Lopez said.

The crash occurred at Highland View Avenue and Colorado Boulevard about 10:30 p.m. A witness said he saw the Mitsubishi hit a Nissan Maxima. The Nissan, with five people inside, then slammed into a tree on Colorado Boulevard's median and caught fire, Lopez said.

Three men who were ejected from the Nissan landed in the street. A 20-year-old man from the Nissan died; one man's hand and leg were severed, and the other man's leg was severed at the hip. The two survivors were taken to the hospital and are listed in critical condition, Harding said.

Inside the Nissan was the 12-year-old girl, who was in the back seat, and the pregnant woman, who was found dead in the driver's seat, Harding said.

Colorado Boulevard was closed off for about eight hours and officers were still on the scene today as morning traffic rolled over glass and plastic parts from the cars. The tree that the Nissan had hit had blood and scraped bark left on it and the car looked like a crushed soda can as it was towed away.

John Chavez, 38, who lives nearby, said he heard a "loud thump" at about 10:30 p.m., went outside and saw "blood and debris everywhere." He saw a "torso" in the middle of the street, another person on the pavement screaming for help, and a woman stuck in the twisted wreckage.

"It was the worst accident I've ever seen," Chavez said. "It was carnage."

Daniel Gutierrez, 54, a homeless man who was sleeping a block up the street, said he awoke when he heard "a boom, like an explosion" as the Mitsubishi hit the Nissan. The Nissan careened out of control, fishtailing in the street and hitting the tree, where it exploded in flames, he said.

"I went over there, but it was too late," Gutierrez said.

The Mitsubishi drove farther up the street, made a U-turn around the center divider and stopped nearby, he said. Someone got out to help, but it was too late, he said.

Firefighters arrived at the scene and, using special equipment, cut loose the woman and girl inside the Nissan.

The names of the individuals were not immediately released. Police believe the cars were street racing, and that a third car involved had fled the scene.

"We're hoping to get additional witnesses to provide information on this whole incident," Lopez said.

According to state figures, nearly 100 people die each year in California as a result of illegal street racing.

Anyone with information about the Eagle Rock crash is requested to call (877) LAWFULL.