The recent arrest of two men accused of causing the death of an 18-year-old woman while street racing is putting a spotlight on the reality of being fast and furious behind the wheel.
On Monday, News4JAX learned the suspected street racing incident that killed 18-year-old Alteondra Williams was livestreamed on Instagram.
Not only did investigators see a copy of the video, but they also spoke with a witness who was a passenger in the other car.
Last week, the Florida Highway Patrol announced the arrest of 22-year-old Clifton Flagler Jr. and 20-year-old Derrick Evans.
Both men are facing charges in connection to a crash that killed Williams.
According to the arrest warrant, Flagler and Evans were racing through multiple red lights and drove recklessly through traffic at high speeds along Highway 17 in Green Cove Springs.
According to the event data recorder from Flagler’s Chevy Malibu, he was traveling at 132 mph before losing control of his car. The Malibu went off the road, spun, hit a culvert, and went airborne into a tree.
The collision with the tree caused Flagler’s car to split in half.
Flagler and Williams, his passenger, were taken to the hospital where Williams died.
New information from FHP also revealed that a female passenger was in the car with Evans. FHP said she admitted to investigators that Flagler and Evans were both racing each other. She also told investigators that she and Williams were on Instagram Live with each other before and during the crash. Investigators said they watched the video to confirm the two men were racing each other.
The sad reality is that Williams is not the first person to die from suspected illegal street racing and she most likely won’t be the last given the popularity of street racing.
“There have been cases that I’ve had association with over the years that are directly related to a street racing event,” News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst Tom Hackney said.
Before becoming a News4JAX Crime and Safety Analyst, Hackney spent close to 30 years as a JSO law enforcement officer who worked in the homicide unit before becoming the director of investigations and homeland security.
Hackney said illegal street racing involving young people has been around for a long time in Northeast Florida.
“Now you have a lot more technology that cars have, and you can chip them. You can raise horsepower and you can do it without a whole lot of money involved,” Hackney said.
According to data from Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, the primary age range of illegal street racing is 16 to 29, and according to Streetracing.com, a website dedicated to legal car racing enthusiasts, today’s street racing culture can be partially attributed to what’s portrayed in movies.
But street racing scenes in movies are recorded on closed movie sets and streets that have been blocked off. Plus, professional stunt drivers are behind the wheel.
Hackney said that people who illegally street race are not professional stunt drivers and are racing on roads shared by other motorists.
“Sometimes they end up in fatalities and there can be multiple fatalities just because again, it’s a couple of thousand-pound car versus a body and you know who’s going to lose,” Hackney said.
And this is why Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles have posted this flier online to prevent death and destruction from illegal street racing.
According to car racing experts, another contributing factor to street racing is the lack of racetracks that are designated locations for legal car racing.
“There’s nowhere safe to do it and that leaves our normal roadways as the racetrack,” Hackney said.
In October 2022, a Florida law was enacted to curtail the dangerous rise in street racing. The law bans unsanctioned drag racing, street takeovers, drifting, wheelies, burnouts, and donuts. A violation is considered a first-degree misdemeanor. The first violation will result in a 1-year driver’s license revocation and a fine between $500 and $1000. A second violation will result in a 2-year license revocation and a fine of up to $3,000. A third violation will result in a four-year license revocation and a fine of up to $5,000.
According to data from Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, from 2020 to last year, there have been increases in the number of street racing citations.
There was a significant increase in street racing citations in 2023:
- 1,295 citations in 2020
- 1,675 citations in 2021
- 1,946 citations in 2022
- 2,485 citations in 2023
The same data also revealed the primary age range of illegal street racing is 16 to 29.
Hackney said, parents of teens who are new to driving, especially should talk to their kids about the dangers of street racing.
“These new drivers, in many cases get out there and don’t know how to control the car. We’re talking thousands of pounds of a vehicle at super high speeds It’s just a recipe for disaster,” Hackney said.
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Source: click orlando
