While drag racing may be portrayed in the media as a legitimate pastime for young people, two teenage boys from the Cincinnati, Ohio, area have learned the hard way that the sport can have serious consequences. The two 16-year-old high school students have been charged in connection with an accident that left two of their classmates injured.
According to police, the accident occurred when a group of teens were drag racing last month on state Route 4. A car belonging to one of the boys charged collided with a Jeep Wrangler that was being driven by a teenage girl. The 16-year-old girl’s vehicle was then sent across the eastbound lanes, overturned and crashed. Both the teenage girl driver and her passenger, who was also 16-years-old, were hospitalized following the crash.
A mother of one of the teenage girls who was injured in the accident said that the use of seatbelts and the roll cage on the Jeep saved the girls’ lives.
The driver of the vehicle that collided with the Jeep, whom police said caused the crash, is being charged with two felony counts of vehicular assault and one misdemeanor count of drag racing. These are very serious charges for a young person to face, though it is likely that he will be charged as a juvenile rather than an adult.
Even though drag racing is often glamorized by television or movies, it is extremely dangerous. Anytime poor judgment is involved with vehicles, the results can be deadly, as these young people now know. In fact, the drivers of the vehicles participating in drag racing could face civil law suits brought by people injured, as well as criminal charges.
Source: WLWT.com, “Teens Charged In Fairfield Twp. Drag Racing Crash,” News 5, 3/4/2011