Malikot

iTrader: (3)

ROCKVILLE, Md. - Neighbors near Rockville Pike, where an 18-year-old college freshman was killed in Tuesday night's six-car traffic pileup, say the area is often used for street racing.

Around 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, Gaithersburg resident Ngoc Xuan Thi Lai was driving her white Toyota Camry southbound near the White Flint Mall on Rockville Pike when a Honda Civic driven by 27-year-old Jeffrey Nunez and carrying two passengers crossed the median and went airborne, landing on the Camry and killing Lai instantly.

Police say Lai probably never knew what hit her. The youngest of eight children, Lai's distraught family spent Wednesday morning making funeral arrangements. "[I'm] upset and very sad," said Tuan Lai, the victim's brother. "My sister is actually innocent, [she had] just [gotten] off work."

Nunez told investigators that he lost control of his car when he swerved to miss a black Nissan that was driving erratically. Police are now looking for that car which is described as a 2005 to 2007 Nissan 350Z with a rear spoiler, tinted windows, and possibly Maryland tags that included the characters, "1- E-C." Nunez and one of his passengers, 22-year-old Rodnee Ganio, were taken to the hospital with minor injuries, while the third person in the Civic, 47-year-old Gabrial Quinto, was not hurt.

After the Civic landed on the Camry, Lai's vehicle crashed into a Mazda driven by Ricardo Cruz, 35; Cruz was not injured. A fourth vehicle, a BMW driven by 19-year-old Chawla Rashi was also hit by one of these cars, but Rashi also escaped without injury. And the Civic went on to strike a Toyota carrying two adults and a child, while the driver of a Ford drove into the median to avoid colliding with the Toyota.

One witness who heard the crash believes that the cars were racing when the collision occurred. Hooman Kowkabi said, "Something's got to be done about these street racer dudes that come out here and just fly down Rockville Pike [at] a hundred miles an hour. It seems like they get away with it every week, and now someone's got to pay for it."

Lai worked as a part-time receptionist at the Manhattan Jaguar dealership in Rockville. Her co-workers there also complained about cars racing along Rockville Pike. In fact, they say a nearby parking lot is nicknamed the "Fast and Furious staging area" for racers.

Lucille Bauer of the Montgomery County (web|news) Police Department stated, "At this time, our collision reconstruction unit detectives are trying to confirm whether or not a speed contest was involved in initiating this collision."

Police are also looking for witnesses who might be able to provide more information about the crash. The "There are at least two vehicles, and we may be looking for other vehicles who either were involved or were witnesses to the accident," said Capt. Hanson.

Nicholson Lane and parts of Rockville Pike were closed for several hours, re-opening to traffic around 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1208/576489.html

I learned about this morning, and when I heard it could have been caused by street racing I was furious... then I read more and learned it was possibly a 350z.

My friend Xuan "Song" Lai was the girl killed in this accident last night. If the supposed 350z driver was any of you, shame on you. I hope you rot in hell for what you have caused her friends and family. I hope they find you and your *** gets thrown in jail for the rest of your life.

RIP Song, gone but never forgotten.

03threefiftyz

iTrader: (25)

I'm very sorry to hear that. RIP. Whoever it was needs to man up. Was there a collision between the civic and the z? Should make it a bit easier to ID.

gmueip

iTrader: (8)

Very sad. I hope they cath the people responsible.

NX2KDET

iTrader: (10)

Damn that sucks, seriously people like this need to man up karma will come back to you tenfold, also its reasons like this 350z insurance is so crazy.

0jiggy0

iTrader: (13)

Goodluck in your search, thats ****ed up.

citymunky

iTrader: (50)

That's sad.

Fallen612

iTrader: (1)

thats messed up. if you chose to race on the street and **** goes down you shoudl never drive away. as said above man up. but sorry to hear that man.

KAT_Ayanami

iTrader: (1)

I do not understand...

I do not race on streets or anything like that anymore (for a long time already), but most people on these forums still do.

How come everybody is up for modding up a car and racing it like its stolen on the streets, (because not even 20% is going to a track or auto-x) and now everybody says: "Shame on people who street race".

I have an stock GREY 350z, and whoever was racing should man up and come forward. I mean, if you take the risk, accept the consequences even if you were not the one to kill the actual victim.

But please, anybody that is going to bash against this guy, make sure you are not doing the same at 355, 495 or similar before throwing the first stone.



Now,
I cannot believe the guy on the civic said that he tried to dodge anybody... Come on! He went airborne!! He was surely racing too! How the hell do you dodge somebody by turning towards the median????????

I am a freaking spanish guy, and I am tired of seeing stupid latino-american guys with Integras and Civics on langley park and silver spring racing like *******s. One of them almost pierced a pick up yesterday when the retarded driver tried to show off after a red light in front of my wife!

Maybe everything would be easier if we had somewhere closer to race other than quarter miles...

Unbelievable. I feel sorry for the girl, family and friends.

abui01

iTrader: (68)

I don't see why ppl would blame the Z driver. Sure he was dumb for street racing... but in the end... who's retarded enough to fly across a median. You would think it'd be safer to collide into something on the same side of the road... not the other side where cars are COMING AT YOU... very smart. I say that Nunez guy's story is full of crap, it's apparent he was racing too. I know civics are light and all, but it takes a lot to launch one in the air unless you're going a billion miles per hour... which it seemed like he was doing. And then he has the audacity to blame it on someone else! So let's say (for chits n giggles) that he was traveling at the speed limit and the Z guy passed by him at 100+... what are the chances of him catching even ONE letter of a license plate? (let alone 3 letters!) Why would he even look at the license plate in the first place? Hell, if some guy was driving that fast, my eyes would be on the road looking for a good place to dodge his *** instead of his license plate... I call BS! Just trying to make up something to make him sound more innocent when he's the guilty one. The Z driver may be dumb and guilty for street racing, but he's not the one at fault for killing anybody.

C5_vette

iTrader: (1)

really really sad for the party involved... strange because its rare to see ppl "racing" on the pike... occassionally you do though, usually ricers...

this is going to make it impossible to meet or even cruise to get a bite to eat now.. cops were pretty bad before, but now its probabaly going to get really bad.. because some idiot in a civic (and/or the Z) lost it..

I also agree that the civic must have been traveling at a very high rate of speed to catch air.(probably racing). that story does not add up.. either way.. very sad story

bb1314

iTrader: (62)

Kieran go get a custom paint job! QUICK!

davidv

iTrader: (2)

No trophy for street racing.

RIP

bigslim350Z

iTrader: (3)

+1

350Ricky

iTrader: (12)

What the hell... RIP. I hope they catch the street racers...

Oh and btw.. Nunez is full of it. Assuming the street is 45mph(which is unlikely cuz its rockville pike should be maybe 35-40mph)... that does not give the car, with 3 passengers, enough momentum to go airborne unless you are speeding like hell.

PhiSig

iTrader: (36)

It is a shame what happened, and I don't doubt the Civic and Z were racing.

What pisses me off is the civic driver is trying to play it off like he is a victim too. He did in fact loose control of HIS car and kill someone. I dont understand what was stopping him from slamming on the brakes if he was doing the speed limit on rockville pike, unless he was weaving in and outta traffic himself playing with the Z. Something doesn't quite add up, I wonder if we'll hear any updates in the case.

sajazzman007

iTrader: (6)

I'm sorry to hear about such a tragedy and my prays go out to the family. In the end this goes to show that no day is promised to anyone. In the end the police will find the person responsible for the incident based off of the information the person provided. Some one here mentioned "Why people mod their vehicles and drive it like they stole it" it comes down to pride, bravado, arrogance, and overall stupidity on the parties racing. No one fully thinks of the consequences of their actions until someone gets hurt. It's like my mother used to scold me when I was a kid throwing rocks "Its all fun and games until someone gets hurt". As much as everyone here bites there lip when things like this happen, the next week we're racing down someone's highway, street, track, etc, live to tell the tale to our friends and some even bold enough on the forums. I to have lost or seen friends go to jail due to racing bikes and cars and fighting wars.. it hurts, though they knew the consequences or took some responsibility for their actions. Someone else in here stated "The person should just turn themselves in" which makes perfect sense since they are responsible. In the end, stupidity has consequences.. though that person doesn't have to come out on this forum and fess up hopefully their conscience will lead them to a police station. Once again bro, sorry about your lost.

abui01

iTrader: (68)

^ Civic was modded, go figure. 2 ricers going at it. Face it, 350z guy will never get caught nor will he fess up unless he's a complete moron. (even though it's the right thing to do) but who does that these days.

And yes, the pike is 35 mph. Hell... my car wouldnt even make it up the median at 35mph, u gotta at least be going 15 over to accomplish that... 50+ over to catch air with *ahem* 3 passengers!!! That's like an extra 300-400 lbs weighin ur butt down. I wonder how fast you hafta be in order to launch a near 2 ton vehicle into the air (with 3 passengers).. pretty darn fast.

350Zanniemal

RIP and regards to family and friends...

definitionxmk

iTrader: (10)

wow... airborne. good one.

Le Zed

+1

damn, i work off the pike and have a black Z..... <phew> thank god no spoiler nor those letters on my plates... i wasn't even aware of this incident. This really goes to show you never know when you're time will be up. My condolences to the family who have lost one.