18 Yr. Old Meets Death on Travolta's Runway

[Amish RakeFight]

Very sad story. The car ran off the end of the runway and flew forward through the air for 200' before being split in half by a tree 15' in the air.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/Story?id=4198416&page=1

The 18-year-old behind the wheel of a BMW that crashed this weekend, killing five Florida teens was reportedly online hours earlier seeking advice on a BMW chat room on problems he was having with the transmission when he hit 140 mph in the $80,000 car.

The grisly accident took place around 3:45 a.m. Saturday at the Jumbolair Aviation Estates, an exclusive gated enclave for private jet owners in Ocala, Fla., where actor John Travolta is a resident.

Article continues....

 

[Princedietrich]

Darwin Awards 2008. We got us a winner.

 

[ATR-DRIVR]

And the parents were.....?

 

[Metro752]

Sleeping in their beds, after watching the 11:00 news. Do you know where you children are?


This occurred at nearly 4am, driven by someone who was just barely an adult, if that.

 

[aucfi]

an 08 M5 is only $80,000?

 

[Princedietrich]

an 08 M5 is only $80,000?

Their cousin, Prince Murray, has a dealership in the valley. He was very nice to them.

 

[viper548]

And how does dad allow his son to get his keys to a car like that?

 

[Amish RakeFight]

6 hours before the accident the kid posted this to a BMW message board.

But less than six hours before the accident, a user who called himself "AmericanM5" logged on to a BMW M-5 online forum asking for advice on how to make the 500-horsepower car go faster.

"The problem is when I'm going pedal to the metal pushing 140 and upshifting, there tends to be thud noise with the gear change," AmericanM5 wrote in one post, adding, "Let me say I am beginner when it comes to high-performance cars as I am only 18 so take it easy on me."

Others on the online forum doubted AmericanM5's claims of owning such a high-powered BMW at such a young age and warned him to take it slow.

A member logged in as "M5Froth" wrote, "Its [sic] just disturbing to know, if you're for real, that an 18 year old who is asking these questions about a 500hp car is driving the same street I am. I don't have anything against young guys driving nice cars, but an 18 year old behind the wheel of an M5 is what accidents are made of IMO."

In his last entry on the forum, posted at 12:33 a.m. Saturday, AmericanM5 wrote, "I completley [sic] understand where you are coming from assuming that I am irresponsible.. that is definetly [sic] understandable. I do sometimes make bad decisions but I am young and I do drive safe and I will not endanger the lives of others.. and I hope you are not under the impression that I am the one to brag, I have never been that way and never will."

 

[Amish RakeFight]

FWIW, Bimmers are programed to cut the fuel at 148 MPH due to an agreement with the U.S. DOT. IF you tamper with the CPU you can get more speed out of it, but it voids the warranty.

 

[viper548]

FWIW, Bimmers are programed to cut the fuel at 148 MPH due to an agreement with the U.S. DOT. IF you tamper with the CPU you can get more speed out of it, but it voids the warranty.

I've got a '97 M3 and the limiter is at 137 on it. I hear it will do 155 with the limiter removed. I don't know what the new M5 will do, but I'm sure well above that