washington951

oh, i hate to be a wet blanket......


Black Porsche sought in trooper's death
By Jeff Libby
Sentinel Staff Writer

October 6, 2004

Investigators were searching Tuesday for a black Porsche that witnesses say was drag racing at speeds of more than 100 mph shortly before a state trooper crashed and was killed Saturday as he tried to overtake the car and a motorcycle.

The initial call to police described the car as a red Porsche 911, but investigators say subsequent interviews with witnesses at the accident site on Interstate 4 in Volusia County suggest that the Porsche is probably a color closer to black than red.

Trooper Darryl L. Haywood's fatal crash may have been caused by a puncture in the right rear tire of his 2002 Chevrolet Camaro cruiser, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said. But investigators have not yet determined what caused the puncture, Miller said.

Haywood's cruiser slid more than 860 feet and was still traveling at 60 mph when it crashed into a tree, according to court testimony given Monday by a state trooper in an unrelated case.

Donald Williams, 38, of Seffner, the driver of the 1999 Suzuki Hayabusa 1300 motorcycle -- considered the fastest production motorcycle ever built -- remained in St. Johns County Jail without bail Tuesday. Deputies in St. Johns County charged Williams with aggravated fleeing and eluding and reckless driving Saturday after they observed him driving northbound on Interstate 95 at more than 150 mph about two hours after the crash in Volusia County.

Investigators are still compiling a timeline of events in an attempt to determine whether Haywood caught up with Williams or the driver of the Porsche.

A memorial service for Haywood is planned for Thursday in Daytona Beach.

carbon_00

Idiots...they should keep those speeds at the track. To bad for the Trooper...up here the police won't chase you "in the city" just for speeding.

RJMDAD996

This is becoming all too dam common on the highways today - Kids see the fast and the furious and think they can hang in triple digits - I generally pay those AHOLES no mind when they try to bait me. Almost daily I see them race on the highway, cutting people off and crazy speeds. What a shame.

carbon_00

Its a shame the dope in the Porsche didn't blow a tyre.... I just like knowing I could dust the guys in teh imports who like to terrorize the freeway, I just don't have to prove it. Would be better if there were more tracks around and insurance companies allowed for lessor fees for advanced driving instruction.

Was a guy here 2 days ago who blew thru a speedtrap doing 140kph...crashed into a transport headon....his Glock went thru the windshield with him...good footage of how not to race your Honda

http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Stor...5-004/page.asp

RR

The cops should not even follow these guys just let them go.
What's the point of follwoing them?
Just set a road block up.
Sometimes you have cops who get a charge out of running high speed chases as well -
2 wrongs dont make a right.

caf

I agree with RR on this one. Was this the only cop in the county? Did he not have a radio to set up intersecting officers? High speed chases are absolutely stupid 90% of the time, and innocent people are often hurt as the pursuers escalate the action.

Moogle

can't believe the hyabusa rider was stupid enough to 1. run away, 2. a few hours later go out again and proceed to ride 150.

houldsworth1

It is, of course, possible that these people were so far in front of the cop that they did not even know about this.

Paul Marangoni

I don't know about that. I was in a serious accident in Toronto many years ago ('87 or so). I was driving a Dodge Caravan home from a gig (I'm a drummer) at about 3:00 in the morning and was T-Boned by a speeding car at Avenue and Eglinton (he ran a red). The car was going about 120 km and was being chased by the police. I was lucky to have survived. He tore off my front end like butter, then went airborne and caught fire. I should have sued the police force.

chrisrc

I do not believe the Porsche driver or motorcyclist bear any responsibility for this unfortunate accident. I just cannot support or agree with high speed police chases. People who risk life and limb to race on public roads are not likely to stop for police. At speeds of over 100 mph, they would almost definitely face astonomical fines, license suspension, and possibly even jail time. While this may come across as cruel or coldhearted, I do not feel sympathetic toward the officer. He made the decision to engage in the pursuit and even attempted to OVERTAKE the cars. This probably provoked the Porsche/Busa to further increase their speeds. Even if the officer had not experienced the tire failure and miraculously managed to catch up to the offenders, how would he have resolved the chase? I assume the probability of innocent motorist casualties increases exponentially the longer a pursuit continues. I personally find a great deal of arrogance and "hunger for power" among police officers. There is little doubt in my mind that the officer in question enjoyed the adrenaline rush of participating in this chase and probably desired to put these "speeding vigilantes" in their place. My views are cleary biased as I have had more than one unpleasant law enforcement experience.

PTEC

Its a shame the trooper died but its just another in a long line of cases against high speed pursuits. They're just too dangerous to the innocent to justify.

Surf Twang

Oh yes they do. Their illegal and irresponsible behavior instigated this incident. And the trial, if there is one, will prove it. These cases almost always go against the instigators and rightly so IMHO. The police will argue that time was of the essence and the officer had to try to stop them before they injured or killed innocent people. BTW, I'm not for high-speed chases unless there are special circumstances but in this case the drag racers bear the responsibility.

chitownbob

Wow, none of you seem to know the facts but some have already cast an opinion that the officer was at fault. Clearly the investigation hasn't finished. The article doesn't even say how fast the officer was travelling when the tire blew out; just that it was "still traveling 60 mph when he crashed." Just because the officer was pursuing does not automatically make it a high speed chase. Perhaps he was following the two at a lower speed while radioing ahead for a roadblock when the tire blewout.

Bobby

rss997

Oh brilliant opinions here, lets let the bad guys go so they can - A. Not be punished -B.not hurt the innocent and- C. Do this anytime they want knowing they wont have any consequences.

Sounds like a buch of liberal democrats to me. Why don't we just appoint more idiot judges who give all the rights to the criminals or offenders and screw the rest of us law abidding citizens...Maybe we can put the cops on trial for trying to do their job too!

I know alot of cops who put their lives on the line everyday to try and protect innocent people whom they have never met. These guys and gals have way more guts and heart than than the average citizen these days!

Time to wake up people.................

Robert

fixnprsh

I dont think they should terminate a pursuit, then the bad guy gets away and lives to do it again. I say shoot at them with an M16. If they actually got shot at like in the old days, there would be a decline in car chases I guarantee!
As far as the bikes, Its so easy to run from the cops and get away on a bike its like shooting ducks in a barrel, I have friends that do it all the time and have never been caught. Personaly I think they are idiots and as the old saying goes, "stupidity kills but not nearly enough"