3 killed in crash on River Road

[Anonymous]

The problem with a kid like this is what is to prevent him from doing the exact same thing as soon as he is out of prison?
He's clearly shown that he's habitually reckless. Is he suddenly going to be a model driver?

Who in their right mind would drive 115 (or was it 110?) on RIVER ROAD? I guess I could see doing it on 95 or 495 but River road?
It's just a total and utter lack of judgment. You can't change that in someone.
I don't ever want him on the road again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow. There is no way anyone can predict a car flying out at that speed on that intersection

I still don't understand how the car that was turning didn't see him coming. He was going way too fast and obs at fault, but when I look out before I turn I do not go if I see cars flying towards me. Anyone have any info on how they may have missed him.

There road is small hill that slightly distorts the view at the turn-off for the high school. Plus, at night it's too difficult to tell how far away the speeding car is. At the 45mph speed limit, the family would have easily made the turn. At 115mph the driver is moving 56 yards per second.

Also, as the crash engineers noted, the BMW was coming straight on and given the dark with headlights, it would be very difficult for the driver of the Volt to accurately estimate the approaching car's speed. So he saw it, figured it was going 45-60 mph and turned, clearly not recognizing the 115 mph approach speed. Even with braking, impact was at 75 mph.

Do we know whether the speeder even had his lights on or not? He doesn't sound responsible enough for even that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with a kid like this is what is to prevent him from doing the exact same thing as soon as he is out of prison?
He's clearly shown that he's habitually reckless. Is he suddenly going to be a model driver?

Who in their right mind would drive 115 (or was it 110?) on RIVER ROAD? I guess I could see doing it on 95 or 495 but River road?
It's just a total and utter lack of judgment. You can't change that in someone.
I don't ever want him on the road again.

+1

Spoiled brat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is shocking and so sad. I hope he goes to jail for a long, long time.

I'm willing to bet he'll receive something like 6 years, and will get out in 2.
Kinda like that kid who drove drunk and killed two of his classmates.

Is that Ellis kid in jail yet? For how long?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/bmw-driver-who-was-going-115-mph-to-plead-guilty-in-deadly-bethesda-crash/2016/07/13/b503b30a-4750-11e6-acbc-4d4870a079da_story.html?tid=sm_tw_pl&wprss=rss_crime

BMW driver to plead guilty, going 115 miles per hour.

Not a huge surprise. We could smell the afflenuenza the day of the crash.

A young person with a sh*tty driving record, a love of racing his cars although his lawyers have probably scrubbed most of this from the internet that he can, and really, really sh*tty parents for not learning how to say NO.

He should have been riding the bus not behind the wheel and basically murdered most of a family.

+1

[Anonymous]

How did the survivor live? Was it a seatbelt or simply different side of the car?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How did the survivor live? Was it a seatbelt or simply different side of the car?

Both - but I am guessing luck, too. POI was on the other side, no?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem with a kid like this is what is to prevent him from doing the exact same thing as soon as he is out of prison?
He's clearly shown that he's habitually reckless. Is he suddenly going to be a model driver?

Who in their right mind would drive 115 (or was it 110?) on RIVER ROAD? I guess I could see doing it on 95 or 495 but River road?
It's just a total and utter lack of judgment. You can't change that in someone.
I don't ever want him on the road again.

This was what I was thinking. How could you even get enough of an unobstructed gap on River Road to attain that speed? It happened in the dark but it wasn't the middle of the night and it's not exactly a sparsely trafficked road. How did he even manage it? And what the hell was going through his brain? The judgment and risk assessment was just a complete and utter failure on every possible level--he didn't even have the "excuse" of being drunk or high on something to explain making such a catatonically stupid decision. Someone decides to floor it in their luxury German car at 3:30am on the Beltway, I can at least sort of comprehend the rationalization process that might lead a person to think they could get away with it safely--it's a wide, flat, very gently curved road designed for high speeds, limited access, barriers between opposite-direction traffic, at a time when there wouldn't be many other drivers or cops around. It's still extremely stupid, criminal, reckless, etc. but I could at least fathom how someone might think that way. This? Utterly baffling. 115 MPH on River Road? What?

So senseless and inexplicable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:How did the survivor live? Was it a seatbelt or simply different side of the car?

Both - but I am guessing luck, too. POI was on the other side, no?

Apparently she was right behind the driver. That means, as you visualize this, she was closest to the axis about which the force vectors were applied. She was more or less at the very center of a merry-go-round where the lateral force and "whip" were minimized. Everyone else got snapped and whipped about much more violently.

The seat belt and airbags certainly helped, but it was her position that saved her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with a kid like this is what is to prevent him from doing the exact same thing as soon as he is out of prison?
He's clearly shown that he's habitually reckless. Is he suddenly going to be a model driver?

Who in their right mind would drive 115 (or was it 110?) on RIVER ROAD? I guess I could see doing it on 95 or 495 but River road?
It's just a total and utter lack of judgment. You can't change that in someone.
I don't ever want him on the road again.

This was what I was thinking. How could you even get enough of an unobstructed gap on River Road to attain that speed? It happened in the dark but it wasn't the middle of the night and it's not exactly a sparsely trafficked road. How did he even manage it? And what the hell was going through his brain? The judgment and risk assessment was just a complete and utter failure on every possible level--he didn't even have the "excuse" of being drunk or high on something to explain making such a catatonically stupid decision. Someone decides to floor it in their luxury German car at 3:30am on the Beltway, I can at least sort of comprehend the rationalization process that might lead a person to think they could get away with it safely--it's a wide, flat, very gently curved road designed for high speeds, limited access, barriers between opposite-direction traffic, at a time when there wouldn't be many other drivers or cops around. It's still extremely stupid, criminal, reckless, etc. but I could at least fathom how someone might think that way. This? Utterly baffling. 115 MPH on River Road? What?

So senseless and inexplicable.

The M4, which he was driving, is the street version of BMWs 4 series race car. It is very very powerful and going from 45-115 would not take long at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with a kid like this is what is to prevent him from doing the exact same thing as soon as he is out of prison?
He's clearly shown that he's habitually reckless. Is he suddenly going to be a model driver?

Who in their right mind would drive 115 (or was it 110?) on RIVER ROAD? I guess I could see doing it on 95 or 495 but River road?
It's just a total and utter lack of judgment. You can't change that in someone.
I don't ever want him on the road again.

This was what I was thinking. How could you even get enough of an unobstructed gap on River Road to attain that speed? It happened in the dark but it wasn't the middle of the night and it's not exactly a sparsely trafficked road. How did he even manage it? And what the hell was going through his brain? The judgment and risk assessment was just a complete and utter failure on every possible level--he didn't even have the "excuse" of being drunk or high on something to explain making such a catatonically stupid decision. Someone decides to floor it in their luxury German car at 3:30am on the Beltway, I can at least sort of comprehend the rationalization process that might lead a person to think they could get away with it safely--it's a wide, flat, very gently curved road designed for high speeds, limited access, barriers between opposite-direction traffic, at a time when there wouldn't be many other drivers or cops around. It's still extremely stupid, criminal, reckless, etc. but I could at least fathom how someone might think that way. This? Utterly baffling. 115 MPH on River Road? What?

So senseless and inexplicable.

The M4, which he was driving, is the street version of BMWs 4 series race car. It is very very powerful and going from 45-115 would not take long at all.

Still, though, the crash happened just before 7pm--that's barely the end of rush hour around here.

I'm trying to apply a rational thought process to an incident where there likely was none. Probably a totally pointless exercise.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with a kid like this is what is to prevent him from doing the exact same thing as soon as he is out of prison?
He's clearly shown that he's habitually reckless. Is he suddenly going to be a model driver?

Who in their right mind would drive 115 (or was it 110?) on RIVER ROAD? I guess I could see doing it on 95 or 495 but River road?
It's just a total and utter lack of judgment. You can't change that in someone.
I don't ever want him on the road again.

This was what I was thinking. How could you even get enough of an unobstructed gap on River Road to attain that speed? It happened in the dark but it wasn't the middle of the night and it's not exactly a sparsely trafficked road. How did he even manage it? And what the hell was going through his brain? The judgment and risk assessment was just a complete and utter failure on every possible level--he didn't even have the "excuse" of being drunk or high on something to explain making such a catatonically stupid decision. Someone decides to floor it in their luxury German car at 3:30am on the Beltway, I can at least sort of comprehend the rationalization process that might lead a person to think they could get away with it safely--it's a wide, flat, very gently curved road designed for high speeds, limited access, barriers between opposite-direction traffic, at a time when there wouldn't be many other drivers or cops around. It's still extremely stupid, criminal, reckless, etc. but I could at least fathom how someone might think that way. This? Utterly baffling. 115 MPH on River Road? What?

So senseless and inexplicable.

The M4, which he was driving, is the street version of BMWs 4 series race car. It is very very powerful and going from 45-115 would not take long at all.

Still, though, the crash happened just before 7pm--that's barely the end of rush hour around here.

I'm trying to apply a rational thought process to an incident where there likely was none. Probably a totally pointless exercise.

I am a former high speed, performance and security driver and instructor. With young men who have cars like this and apparently no formal training, the attitude is "I know what I am doing. All my friends say I am great. There's nothing to worry about. This is easy and I'm in control". Little do they know that none of that is true.

[Anonymous]

Ellis is in montgomery detention center. For 6 years I believe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with a kid like this is what is to prevent him from doing the exact same thing as soon as he is out of prison?
He's clearly shown that he's habitually reckless. Is he suddenly going to be a model driver?

Who in their right mind would drive 115 (or was it 110?) on RIVER ROAD? I guess I could see doing it on 95 or 495 but River road?
It's just a total and utter lack of judgment. You can't change that in someone.
I don't ever want him on the road again.

This was what I was thinking. How could you even get enough of an unobstructed gap on River Road to attain that speed? It happened in the dark but it wasn't the middle of the night and it's not exactly a sparsely trafficked road. How did he even manage it? And what the hell was going through his brain? The judgment and risk assessment was just a complete and utter failure on every possible level--he didn't even have the "excuse" of being drunk or high on something to explain making such a catatonically stupid decision. Someone decides to floor it in their luxury German car at 3:30am on the Beltway, I can at least sort of comprehend the rationalization process that might lead a person to think they could get away with it safely--it's a wide, flat, very gently curved road designed for high speeds, limited access, barriers between opposite-direction traffic, at a time when there wouldn't be many other drivers or cops around. It's still extremely stupid, criminal, reckless, etc. but I could at least fathom how someone might think that way. This? Utterly baffling. 115 MPH on River Road? What?

So senseless and inexplicable.

The M4, which he was driving, is the street version of BMWs 4 series race car. It is very very powerful and going from 45-115 would not take long at all.

No kid should be given a car like that. The only way he should have been driving it is if he had a job and was living independently.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem with a kid like this is what is to prevent him from doing the exact same thing as soon as he is out of prison?
He's clearly shown that he's habitually reckless. Is he suddenly going to be a model driver?

Who in their right mind would drive 115 (or was it 110?) on RIVER ROAD? I guess I could see doing it on 95 or 495 but River road?
It's just a total and utter lack of judgment. You can't change that in someone.
I don't ever want him on the road again.

This was what I was thinking. How could you even get enough of an unobstructed gap on River Road to attain that speed? It happened in the dark but it wasn't the middle of the night and it's not exactly a sparsely trafficked road. How did he even manage it? And what the hell was going through his brain? The judgment and risk assessment was just a complete and utter failure on every possible level--he didn't even have the "excuse" of being drunk or high on something to explain making such a catatonically stupid decision. Someone decides to floor it in their luxury German car at 3:30am on the Beltway, I can at least sort of comprehend the rationalization process that might lead a person to think they could get away with it safely--it's a wide, flat, very gently curved road designed for high speeds, limited access, barriers between opposite-direction traffic, at a time when there wouldn't be many other drivers or cops around. It's still extremely stupid, criminal, reckless, etc. but I could at least fathom how someone might think that way. This? Utterly baffling. 115 MPH on River Road? What?

So senseless and inexplicable.

The M4, which he was driving, is the street version of BMWs 4 series race car. It is very very powerful and going from 45-115 would not take long at all.

No kid should be given a car like that. The only way he should have been driving it is if he had a job and was living independently.

I am the PP instructor.

I agree. Sort of.

Men under the age of 35 should be limited to no more horsepower than their age. If you're married, double your age.