343 replies to this topic

[Family Friend]

too bad we don't live in the world of the 24 tv show. our police folks could have called Jack Baur and he would have had Cloie program the satalite and we would have the accident shown as it really hppened.

The fact is that in this case the police have a video from Applebee's that shows the Solara driving through the parking lot and then seconds later the boys driving on Iron Point Road. From the video they can determine how fast the boys were driving, the order of the cars, the lanes they were driving in, and how close the cars were to each other.

In the video, the white BMW is in the lane closest to the sidewalk and the Dodge Stealth is in the middle lane.

The BMW is approximately 4-6 car lengths in front of the Stealth.

As they go into the turn this would mean that the BMW is between the Stealth and the Solara, limiting if not fully blocking their view of each other.

Now we move from the video evidence to the Police Report.

The Solara pulled out and the BMW went behind it without any problems.

At this moment, the Stealth is presented with the Solara, which is stopped in his lane, for the first time approx. 166 feet in front of him and hits his breaks.

[camay2327]

And like I said earlier, if he had let up on his brakes even for an instant he might have been able to pull right enough to go behind her and miss her. It could be not enough experience behind the wheel. Again, this is something that is not taught but learned through experience.

[j5mann]

I drive down Iron Point every day for work, so I've seen the skid marks. The skid marks go from the middle lane to the outer lane in about 160ft. But what makes me think they were well over the speed limit is the skid marks after. You can tell the cars hit in the lane closest to the middle of the road, then skid marks making what seems like figure 8 patterns follow after that going against the opposite side of traffic which covered all 3 lanes and finally stopped at the sidewalk on the other side of Iron Point, right about where all the flowers still lay for the woman. A Stealth is not a heavy car, why did it slam the Camery so far if it was only going 45mph?

[Tugboat]

One things folks need to realize - seeing a car coming at 45mph and determining its distance and speed is entirely different then trying to gauge one coming at you over 70 or 80+ mph

I'm not an expert, but based on the fact there were skid marks over 160 feet long, that is a seriously strong indication they were not going the posted speed limit

Its just amazing to me how the death of this lady is over shadowed by the concern of the boys future - guess its easy to forget that lady no longer has a future

DavBurr, I’m not clear to your 70 or 80 mph suggested speed. Straight line skid marks across a lane tells me the speed was not as fast as you indicate, maybe not even 60 mph. At that speed, a car would have drifted, showing 4 tire marks, or rolled down the street. There was a great deal of control cutting across an equivalent of 2 lanes of traffic @ about a 30 degree change in direction. At that speed no professional could do it with breaks locked, how do you explain the boys ability to have such control…….

[Orangetj]

I do know that the online calculator tells me that:

If two tires leave a 166 foot skidmark - that equals 58 mph
and
If two tires leave a 80 foot skidmark - that equals 37.9 mph

That gives me an average speed of 47.95 mph - barely over the speed limit.

What this analysis leaves out is that at the end of these 166 foot skidmarks, the car was still carrying enough kinetic energy to toss the Solara across three lanes and kill the driver of that car. The Stealth did not come to a stop on it's own after 166 feet of locked brake skidding, which is what the 58 mph in your post above would represent.

There have been a couple of posts questioning why the skid marks appear to veer to the left, which might somehow indicate that the driver of the Stealth was in control of the direction of the vehicle. Looking at the road in that spot, it's easy to see that the road is curving to the right. As soon as the brakes were locked, the car would no longer continue around the trajectory of the curve and would instead continue at a direction tangental to the curve - i.e. a straight line traversing to the left across the lanes of the road.

[camay2327]

Exactly, when you lock your brakes you continue in the direction you were going before you hit the brakes. So the car would not go around the curve but continue in the direction it was going, which the skid marks indicate.

[idunno]

I just got off of the phone with a very close friend of mine who is in the middle of this investigation with the Folsom Police. I told him about Family Friends postings and asked him to read them and let me know what he thought. My friend got back to me a few minutes ago and told me that Family Friend is "speculating" on some of the issues that he mentions. My friend also told me that FF is way off base on almost everything he/she says. My friend would not tell me what was in the report (not 50+ pages like FF says) and that the speeds will come out at the trial. My friend did say that everyone who had an opinion about the skid marks needs to factor in that the Stealth did not stop by itself after skidding 150+ feet, but was stopped because it hit another vehicle. My friend also said that the CHP will determine the speed by doing some kind of analysis....My friend did like FF's solution when he came up with the 59 MPH...that is a minimum speed the Stealth was going. As for the video, my friend said both the BMW and Stealth appeared well OVER the speed limit.....

Sorry to beat you up Family Friend...but you need to get your information from someone who knows something...

[lovely]

I couldnt agree more w/ idunno!~ Family Friend is clearly bias with all the facts cuz he/she is clearly on the boys "side" or whatever- now granted I am VERY close with the McNew family, and have biases as well. BUT I just think people need to take into account that family friends facts/ and "true" statements may be a little off. He/she may claim that s/he knew the mcnew family too, therefore s/he is not bias, but no FF possible knew who Mrs. McNew was by seeing her around the neices/nephews school (what a great aunt/uncle- there EVERYday huh?!) but i doubt you really knew her or her family from living there 12 years ago for two years. anyway, like everyone says we'll see the true facts (or whatever the court says to be true) eventually, and nothing any one says on here can change the death of this amazing woman or the fate of the two boys.- oh and FF mentions the boys families didnt get a call until much later after the accident. maybe becuase the police figured it be more important to have concerns for the family of the women in critical condition, rather than the boys with a few scratches and bruises. and no the women didnt die at the scene, it was a while later in the hospital, however the boys were well informed of her condition while rummaging for those speakers. ....and yes the were released to the parents WITH ankle braclets, and can only go to and from school and work- and cannot associate w/ eachother or drive.

[LadyGreenEyes]

Personally, I find it hard to believe much of what "family friend" posts. Don't mean to be rude, but I say what I think.

[tessieca]

I think FF is trying to be as unbiased as possible for a family friend. I give them credit for trying. We can all speculate about speeds, but it won't come out until trial or preliminary hearing or other such court proceeding, so it will remain speculation. Even if the boys were racing at "only" 59 miles per hour, they were wrong, and they will likely have to suffer the consequences of their bad decision resulting in the loss of life.

[Family Friend]

Interesting comment from the Judge that the police investigation of the accident will take months. What happens if the police investigation determines the kids weren't speeding?

I think the boys would simply be released from house arrest.


Let's just try a question today.

As reported in the Sacramento Bee there have been three "street racing" accidents that have lead to a death in the last 8 months in Sacramento County. Based on the Bee's reporting they all sound fairly similar.

So how have the police handled the three accidents:

Elk Grove - happened 8 months ago - No Charges Filed, No Arrest - pending investigation

Wilbur Way - just happened - No Charges Filed, No Arrest - pending investigation

Folsom - immediate charges filed and arrest - driver given 24 days solitary confinement and indefinite house arrest - pending investigation.

Reminds me of the children's song. One of these things is not like the other, not like the other, not like the other.

These are drastically different processes be the police for similar events.

Why are the police handling one case differently? Is it because in one case the police had a relationship to the driver of the Solara? While in the other cases being investigated the police are neutral to everyone involved?

I will not give my opinion since it is biased.

I will just ask, what is your opinion about the way three different police investigation teams have handled the same incedent? And what do you think might be the reason for the difference?

[cw68]

I will just ask, what is your opinion about the way three different police investigation teams have handled the same incedent? And what do you think might be the reason for the difference?

Because Folsom generally has a lower crime rate and its residents are more bothered by crime, even if it's alleged. We choose to live in a safe place and want to keep it safe.

[Robert Giacometti]

Because Folsom generally has a lower crime rate and its residents are more bothered by crime, even if it's alleged. We choose to live in a safe place and want to keep it safe.

I believe most everyone wants to live in a safe place wether its Folsom or elsewhere. FF introduces something to consider. One doesn't have to agree with them but it raises questions.

Something that has really troubled me was the Police spokesperson's statements regarding an officer's OPINION regarding the kids actions after the accident. It seems to me the spokesperson should ONLY being issuing statements of facts and NOT OPINIONS.

A statement of fact could be something like, indicating how many times the kids asked about removing the speakers compared to how many times they inquired about the condition of the other driver. The people could then form their own opinion based upon the statement of facts.

I hope that this doesn't come back to haunt the City of Folosm.

[cw68]

I believe most everyone wants to live in a safe place wether its Folsom or elsewhere.

I don't disagree, but people in Folsom seem obsessed, IMO. I've never seen so much fear of public transportation in my life (light rail).

[mylo]

I love this thread. It's like watching Cop Drama!