Street racing isn’t exactly the smartest pass time and we all know why. The road isn’t as safe as a racetrack. Most cars involved in street racing aren’t really equipped to handle the demanding nature of competition driving. The drivers aren’t typically up to the task either. Oh, and the roads are open to the public. All of those factors come together in this multi-vehicle crash.
The film uploaded to YouTube has now become material evidence as police and attorneys have both been granted access – and now we get a look too. In it we see two cars making rapid progress on the camera car, a Tesla Model Y.
On what looks to be a four-lane highway in Morgan Hill, California, the cars zoom up in lanes two and four. It’s the only clear footage we get of the race itself. From what we can see, the car in lane two is a Chevrolet Camaro. The car in lane four appears to be a Dodge Charger but you’d never know that at this point in the video.
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As the cars zoom out of frame we get another view from the front dashcam of the Tesla. In it, we see what looks like a Toyota Camry shifting from lane four to lane three. As it settles into the lane, the Camaro slams directly into the back of it. Slightly further ahead and almost at the same exact time, another car in the same lane gets plowed into by the Charger. Text on the video surmises that the cars hit each other just before this shot and couldn’t stop themselves before crashing into the commuters.
From what we can tell, the lane change by what looks like a Camry could’ve been the cause too. If the racers planned to go around that car in lane three they could’ve been caught off guard by its shift to that lane. From what we see, it never used a signal. The Charger might have made the move to lane four successfully but the Camaro could’ve easily failed to slow down enough, tapping the back of the Dodge and then ramming the Toyota. That would explain why the Charger lost control too despite not touching the Camry.
There aren’t any hard numbers on exactly how many of the thousands of street races that take place each year result in accidents, wrecks, or worse. It seems likely that the vast majority end up with nothing more than some burnt fuel and broken laws.
Nevertheless, any single one of the factors that contributed to the wreck in this video could happen in any street race and produce even worse results. The lesson should be clear: no matter how unlikely a result like this one might seem, it’s never worth the risk.
Correction: The second car appears to be a Dodge Charger, not a Challenger