Who gives an STi to a 17 teen year old? To bad he killed all his friends.

[IGOTASTi]

This is such a sad story, but really that's give an STi to a teenager and hope he don't get killed. He lived, but killed all his friends! Unreal! :tard:

Four teens killed in horrific car crash on Long Island; teen at wheel only had learner's permit

Joseph Beer lost control of the 2012 Subaru Impreza STi that friends said his parents just bought for him after he ?failed to negotiate a curve,? State Police officials said. The car, which Beer had been given for graduating early from Richmond Hill High School, split in two ? and tossed the teens out like rag dolls.

They died on Dead Man?s Curve. I WONDER HOW IT GOT THAT NAME?

Peter Anthony, Chris Khan, Neil Rajaba and Darian Ramnarine ? all of them 18, three of them popular graduates of Richmond Hill High School ? were killed instantly and pronounced dead at the scene.

Beer survived and was being treated at a Long Island hospital.

?He?s going to be okay,? said a neighbor. ?He knows that his friends died.?

 

[Robert Viehweger]

What I want to know is what kind of parent gets their child, that hasn't even grasped the fundamentals of basic driving yet, a car like this? I don't want to hear anything from those that were given these cars as teens and didn't wreck getting all offended. Congratulations to you, you're the minority. The fact remains that give a boy a toy, and he will want to see what that toy can do. In this, and many cases like this, you always have to keep in mind the worst case scenario. What if my child gets in this race car, gets on the road and tries to impress his friends with his flashy new sport car. I also do not want to hear about, "But they can do that in any car." This car was bred to go fast, and be pushed to the limits. What kid is going to sit in this car with his friends, and ignore them saying "C'mon! Let's see what this baby will do!" Of course peer pressure will sit in, and he will gun it, with no consideration of the consequences of "What if I really don't know what the fuck I'm doing with this car?" Much lower expectations among peers are held in an older Kia or Hyundai Elantra, which do not carry that "Race me, I'm fast!" stigma.

I think those parents should be charged for the deaths of those other kids. It was as much their fault for negligence buying him that car as it was his for being stupid. Moreso, since by the very nature of lack of experience, they're just not as smart as they will be if they live long enough. I'm going to stop now, because this shit makes me more than pissed off, that could have been my daughter in that fucking car.

 

[Grinder34]

Additionally, if a kid naturally pushes the limits in any car...well those limits are much higher in an STI. Lets say he was going 110% of the cars potential (hence the crash) and was going 50...well in a camry at 110% he'd only have been going maybe 30. There's a lot less energy at 30 mph than 50! Gah. Its sad, but it happens. Personally, i think race tracks should be more common. Give people (especially teens) a SAFE environment to go fast, get Gs, etc...

 

[35r]

i completely agree! track days should be more often, and for a lower price. most teens cannot afford to pay the fees required to drive a track and do it safely, so they take it to the streets. it is hard enough for an adult to fight the urge to open up a sportscar, i know i find myself battling with it on occasion, and i fully understand the power and the mechanics of the car. so magnify that about a million times, add peer pressure and hand a CHILD keys to a racecar and and tell him to take his friends for a ride your just asking for a horrible accident ! this may sound off the wall.. but there should be age limits and an I.Q. test for these types of cars. and im not just speaking about STI's, but for EVO's, and any other "high end , race inspired" cars! It is a terrible thing to hear happen, and i feel for the parents of all the teens, even the drivers parents , but i agree with robert and the parents should be charged with the lives of the other teens who lost their lives. I really do feel sorry for the parents of the kids who died in this wreck, i couldnt imagine losing one of my children for any reason, much less because of the negligence of another parent and their cocky child. my prayers will be with them.

 

[wrathc525]

Why yes it is sad I feel that you can't 100% blame the parents. he was 18 years of age therefore he could legally be living on his own and more then capible of purchasing the vehicle on his own. Is it possible id say so is that what happened I have no idea. On a side note I've personally lost a good friend in a simalr scenario accidentt and he was in a old beat ass car to me it seems as if yur singleing out a sti because it has a well oem platform power/handeling wise and unlikely in kia or elantra the truth of the mater is this it can happen in any vehicle dosnt matter what it is. Me personally I know my friend that passed had a 10.000 sec mustang and was a very good driver and like I mentioned he got in a fatal wreck in his daily driver beater. As to blaming parents this is how I personally look it id rather have my kid in a vehicle like a sti or aevo sure it has a decent amount of power but should the need rise I can at rest assured he's going to have something that can handel should the need rise.

 

[salsa-king]

the parents should be at blame too, who were they trying to impress by buying him a car like that?

 

[Robert Viehweger]

Everything I read, said 17, Wrath. And, like it or not, that is still a minor. Parents are still responsible, by law. And I knew someone would give the "It can happen in any car" line. You are right, it can. However, there are many cars with even more safety features than an Evo, and STi, that do not generate the adrenaline rush that these cars do, that are much more on a level to a novice driver. Read Grinder's post above for clarification on my statement. He phrased it better than I.

 

[35r]

yes, it can happen in any car, but you increase the chances of it happening when you throw a car like that into the mix. yeah you can slam a geo metro into a telephone pole and have the same type of incident, all cars can crash, all boats can sink , and all planes can go down... ...but your missing the point. this wasnt a freak accident where he was driving a beater car and it happened for no reason, he was screwing off in his new STI, he didnt know how to drive yet, and he killed his friends because of his lack of experiance driving. there are certain people who just shouldnt drive certain types of cars, its mainly a maturity issue. if you cant respect the car and what it does, you shouldnt be behind the wheel of it. clearly he was screwing around on "dead mans curve" and had no concept of what his car was capable of, and this was the outcome. and no one said the parents should get 100% of the blame, but it is infact most of their fault seeing as the kid only had a permit, and most state laws require you to have an adult over the age of 25 in the car with the learner. they were irresponsible and handed an un-seasoned driver w/ no license keys to a sportscar.

 

[CPLKloewer]

I don't see how the parents are responsible. A 17 year old my still be tried as an adult in my state. This is a failing on their part in letting him drive the car without proper training but why are they bad parents for giving him a car? It's a nice car, he probably earned it and had been wanting one all his life. I built and daily drove a pro-charged foxbody when I was 16 off of money I'd earned cutting and splitting firewood. It ran mid 11's with little or no cornering ability and I never wrecked it even though its significantly faster than a stock STI and less safe. Yes, I built and respected what it could do but anyone can wreck a car with respect for it or not. I feel that the kids who got in the car are equally as responsible for getting in the car with him. They were 18 and should have been responsible enough not to get into the car. And who says the parents were aware that he was driving the car without a senior adult with him? Are they to blame for him being a rebellious teen too? Yes, this is a tragedy, but why the finger pointing? Are you all going to freak out when my son goes into junior drags next year at 8 years old? What I'm trying to say is that I don't feel the parents are to blame here. My son is going to help me rebuild my foxbody and it too will be his first car. I feel that it will be a good learning experience for him and teach him to respect both cars and other drivers on the road.

 

[35r]

because they are parents...they are responsible for their childrens actions until they are of legal age, which is 18. and should not have given him keys to that car until he was able to legally drive it. had they held back the keys from an unsafe driver, several teens would be alive right now. your teaching your son, and thats great,, they didnt teach him, the were irresponsible and for that at fault for the lives of those that were taken.

 

[Robert Viehweger]

No, I don't care what you do with your son. That's between you and him at a drag strip. But if you give a brand new drivers the keys to a sports car with little to no training, and say "Have at it son!" Don't expect me to feel terribly sorry for you if something goes wrong and innocent people get hurt. It was still the parents fault. I, Me, Us, my son. This news story wasn't about any of those things. It was about someone who had more money than brains, didn't think about what they were getting their inexperienced, not even basic trained kid, and led to 3 other people getting killed and 3 other families lives destroyed.

Part of the problems we're having these days in situations is that exact mentality. Parents aren't expected to be parents anymore. It's going to happen anyway, so why bother taking ANY steps to prevent it.

 

[Grinder34]

I think the parents should've exercised judgement and maybe not given him a shiny new powerful, well handling car. Not only is it a bit unsafe, but c'mon, you're spoiling your child! Maybe he was from a super rich family, and instead of the lambo he got an STI.... But I'm big on personal freedom. If you wanna have a fast car, go ahead. If you wanna leave a propane inside next to your fireplace--its your decision. And you guys made some good points... and i'd be fine(er) with the situation if the kid had been alone in the car! But the parents might've had rules about no friends, no speeding, etc... And he could've [almost] as easily crashed with just about anything. The STI probably goaded him into going far faster than he should've...but you can go "too fast" and make poor decisions in any car. But cmon, if he'd been a year older (heck maybe he turned 18 tomorrow), do you think he'd magically be more responsible? I think that arbitrary line is silly. Did you feel magically more adult on your 18th birthday?

But i STRONGLY believe that we need better driver education. I remember watching a Top Gear (the one with Mikka Hakkinen) where they talk about the requirements to get a license in Finland. We NEED that. In addition to my earlier comment about the availability of track days, I think one or two autocrosses should be part of driver education. Its important to know what the limits of your car are, what they feel like, and how to react if you somehow surpass them (hit an ice patch). I think his parents were silly for presenting him with temptation. I think the kid was a dumbass for trying to show off. Do I think the parents are criminally responsible? No.

Ultimately, everyone's responsible for their own actions. I think that responsibility comes far before 18, but the exact age at which you're responsible is definitely up for argument, and is certainly not the same across the board. The parents made a poor decision that helped enable the kid to make a bad decision. The driver made a really bad decision, and those passengers made a bad decision as well. I wish none of them had done it, but maybe if this sort of thing happens enough it'll cause other kids to not do the same thing, and perhaps our driver education and track facilities to re-evauluate their positions. Probably not, but everyone (beyond children, and mentally disabled people) puts themselves in their own situations and should be held accountable.

 

[SMASH]

Like any other safety lessons, just like guns, these fast cars take discipline and respect to use safely. It could have just as well been a big american muscle car . I have access to a track. I dont need to see what my car will do on the public highways. STi is a racecar, right off the lot, how could anyone unfamiliar with this sort of performance (kid or adult) be expected to be safe without some sort of demonstration. He probably was some kind of "expert" on Grand Tourismo or some such of driving game and thought it was all good. I took my son for a spin around the track for 6 laps and he almost puked and was nauseous for an hour afterward. to quote him "I had no idea the forces at work in the real thing". thats just it, this kid thought he was already a pro because he probably grew up playing those freakin games.

 

[HolyCrapItsFast]

I drive this stretch of road every day and I can definitely see why they call it dead mans curve... The southern state parkway is riddled with curves, inconsistent road surfaces and changing grades. Unfortunately the road way was built in the 1920's and designed for that eras traffic and speeds. It was in no way designed to handle today's volume or speeds... add on top of that a poorly maintained road surface and wet weather and you have a recipe for disaster. Then on top of that still, you have such inconsistent drivers. It's no wonder more people don't die there.

 

[XxNitr0xX]

I don't see how the parents are responsible. A 17 year old my still be tried as an adult in my state. This is a failing on their part in letting him drive the car without proper training but why are they bad parents for giving him a car? It's a nice car, he probably earned it and had been wanting one all his life. I built and daily drove a pro-charged foxbody when I was 16 off of money I'd earned cutting and splitting firewood. It ran mid 11's with little or no cornering ability and I never wrecked it even though its significantly faster than a stock STI and less safe. Yes, I built and respected what it could do but anyone can wreck a car with respect for it or not. I feel that the kids who got in the car are equally as responsible for getting in the car with him. They were 18 and should have been responsible enough not to get into the car. And who says the parents were aware that he was driving the car without a senior adult with him? Are they to blame for him being a rebellious teen too? Yes, this is a tragedy, but why the finger pointing? Are you all going to freak out when my son goes into junior drags next year at 8 years old? What I'm trying to say is that I don't feel the parents are to blame here. My son is going to help me rebuild my foxbody and it too will be his first car. I feel that it will be a good learning experience for him and teach him to respect both cars and other drivers on the road.

Took the exact words out of my mouth.

 

[Zdfrg]

The parents are responsible because they gave him the car. Even though he was 17 he still isnt an adult and sure as hell isnt responsible. As a parent of two kids over 18 I would never and will never give my kids such a powerful car. Driving a vehicle is dangerous business for teens young adults. A car with that much potential is throwing gas on fire. You can get burned anyway but the likelyhood goes up when you add risk. The parents used poor judgement in purchasing and giving him the vehicle unsupervised. make that car a geo metro and I doubt you will get the same outcome.

 

[Grinder34]

Let's pretend it was his 18th birthday? How would that change you're opinions?

What if he bought it with his own money from working summers, evenings, etc...?

Should it be illegal for a parent to buy a fast car for their kid: What if it was a civic into which he dropped a turbo and coilovers?

Just food for thought.

 

[Vermont]

At 17 I wrecked my dads brand new 2005 civic while still on my learners permit. At 18 I wrecked that car again on an icy road on my way up to Denver. At 20 I purchased an STI and less than a month later wrapped it around a telephone pole trying to be a rally driver. Less than two months later that car was totaled from being hit head on by a drunk driver.

Even at the age of 20 I was in no way ready for an STI. Not even a deployment to Iraq, and hundreds of hours on the road both deployed and in the states prepared me for that car. I was lucky and did not die. A lot of other kids are not so lucky. In all honesty even today I should NOT be driving an STI, especially since it is modified with a lot more power than it had stock.

The kid is at fault here. He was an idiot and is now paying the price. He will have to live with the fact that he killed 3 of his friends due to his stupidity. This kid's parents are at fault as well. They handed the keys of a 305hp all wheel drive, road going rally car to a 17 year old kid with little too no experience. They also killed those other kids. The parents of those slain kids are partially at fault as well. I know I should as hell would not let my child ride in a STI or any other car like it with a 17 year old at the wheel and not a single brain between the lot of them combined.

What car would I put my child in? A huge lump of old Swedish steel, I.E. Volvo 242DL..... If they want something nicer then they had better work their asses off and buy it them damn selves. Other wise if just given the car they will neither respect it nor appreciate it.

 

[Vermont]

Let's pretend it was his 18th birthday? How would that change you're opinions?

What if he bought it with his own money from working summers, evenings, etc...?

Should it be illegal for a parent to buy a fast car for their kid: What if it was a civic into which he dropped a turbo and coilovers?

Just food for thought.

No the age does not change a thing. Enough kids die these days becasue mommy and daddy bought them a fast car for their graduation present as it is, but neither can we say too people that they can not own something or buy something for the one they love just becasue they might die. Even if we make it illegal that will not stop any one. What we need to do is start training kids early on how to drive. Not show them a bunch of pictures of dead bodies. That is sure as hell is not going to stop any one, after all didn't stop me. What we need too do is beat some intelligence and common sense into people.

I hate to say it people but kids need too be beaten.... It is proven that until the age of 22 a kids brain is not yet fully developed, and guess which part is the last to developed? That's right the frontal lobe. The part that controls reason and logic. As a teen you can not be reasoned with. Unless you have a little bit of pain to go with that reason it will not stick. The Army knows this, the rest of the world knows this. For some reason in western civilization we seem to think anything can be reasoned with. Guess what, some times people just cant be reasoned with and if you love your child and want too keep them from killing them selves then you need to beat some common sense into them. It sure as hell worked with me. You all wouldn't believe the stupid shit I would have done had I not gotten my ass whooped instead (from a combination of parents, team leaders and squad leaders), pain is mother natures teacher. Fucking use it.

 

[Grinder34]

What we need to do is start training kids early on how to drive.

Yup