Thread: Tragedy in Tennessee

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The potential (energy) for such a tragic event is always there with machines like that. And even with all the safeguards in place, which here they obviously were not, tragedy can strike. But it always seems to be that when you let your guard down the reaper is certain to pay a visit.

My heart and prayers go out to all those involved. Except the flesh eating Lawyers. Oh yeah, I would be suing too if I lost a kid there ..........

Kitz

The article by Jeff Burk very accurately describes what happens when any reporter does an interview with someone........only a very small portion of the interview gets used, and that portion can be 180 degrees out of phase with what the interviewee was trying to say. Over the years I have done a few interviews for local media on various subjects, and when I see the finished article in print or on TV, it is nowhere near what we had talked about. The reporters only want to use what is sensational, not what is accurate.

As Jeff mentioned, every article I am seeing on this tragedy is headed with the words "Drag Racing." Not one has said "Charity Event EXHIBITION." That is going to be planted in John Q Public's mind as all drag racing and modified cars being no good killers.

I have seen posts where people have said the Promoter and driver are the nicest guys on this planet, and that is probably true........after all they were kind enough to be helping out a charity event for kids. But everyone involved in this mess used extremely poor judgement, especially knowing that a car of this nature is a handful to navigate down a normal dragstrip, let alone down a city street lined with hundreds of unprotected people. You would have thought one person in the mix would have said "I don't think this is a good idea."

Don

you cant fix stupid , that car should never been fired outside of the shop or on the track period. they knew better.

Originally Posted by Dave Severson

Too bad that article won't get any national attention Pro... Unfortunately the media doesn't want the facts, only the blood...

"Facts?".....they don't need no stinkin' facts. They can make up whatever facts they need.

"Inflamatory statements and situations!"...now THAT'S what they need! :-(

Originally Posted by techinspector1

Any lawyer worth his salt will sue EVERYBODY.

Yup, including every sponsor name on the vehicle.....Sad,Sad,deal as some folks that where not even there or involved other than having their name on that car may be at risk of loosing a great deal of money...Everybody involved should have known better. But ya know what, any one of us would have been standing right there in that crowd watching not giving it a second thought.

I will keep it short here....The media is controlled and paid and owned by some of the biggest corperations and policy makers.The media does not report the facts or even actuall news,its a propaganda machine used to divert the flow of emotion to where ever there controllers see fit or better serves them.
I could site countless examples ,first hand interviews with former reporters and actuall ownership origins.................but its apparent to everyone that we are lied to and mislead intentionally by the media and its controllers.This tragic event is no different and the media will promote whatever veiws on this event that there controllers want them to do.They can make it a massive ordeal or simply blow over it like no big deal depending on the out come thats desired.Sad thing is people buy into this and feel whatever way the media tells them to feel,whether its factuall or even correct.
It looks from first impressions that the whole drag racing crowd is under attack from the medias controllers and this falls into line with closing of tracks here in cali,the controllers have a agenda and drag racing is in there bad list ,...so this will be used to fuel and rationalize there position.
Bottom line its tragic and my condolences go out to the families involved.

The only thing the media got wrong was that it was drag racing....the parts about stupid are correct...

I guess I don't see a conspiracy in the media, they're just a bunch of blood thirsty vultures with the media moguls owning them and pushing the buttons. I don't think many people are fooled or swayed by the media any more but realize there only goal is to improve their ratings, accuracy and impartiality went out the window years ago. It doesn't matter which extreme you are at, one of the networks will report it the way you want to hear it. Like the majority of corporate America, their only concern is the $$$$$

i feel its partly the even organizer's fault. you dont jsut have 2500+ horsepower vehicles doing burnouts with NO retaining walls, fences, barriers, and a good distance between IT and the crowd!

I have yet to hear what went wrong. Nothing yet from the driver's side of it anyway. I don't want to be quick to condemn anyone. They have been doing this for 18 years and this is the first time there was an accident. The burnout's are usually done in about 50 feet, this one was done much longer. Was it driver error or a mechanical problem? Could be both.

A lot of people have been quick to condemn the driver, the organizers, etc. But after 18 years of having this same act performed, I think we all need to wait for the report. Things can go horribly wrong in any kind of moving vehicle, doesn't take a drag car or a fighter jet to cause the loss of life in an accident.

As far as the media is concerned, I give no credence to them. They report what they want to. Regardless of the tragedy. They only want to imform you of their point of view regardless of the good or bad points of the issue. Most media types only push their own lopsided agendas, I have no respect or use for them at all.

The media sucks, i know first hand how they can manipulate facts to distort the truth for ratings, they tell what the sheep want to hear, and unfortunatly in this case the best place of blame is going to be the driver, no matter what really happened, no one will ever hear the truth, all the sheep care about is the death toll and the evil drag racer that killed them, the rest of the facts will never be thought about because its boring, there is no shock value in that. like i said i have two good stories that prove the evil of the media if you want to hear them, both involved me, so they are first hand tales.

We knew this was coming, and I can't blame the families one bit.


Don



Wednesday Jun 27 14:53 AEST
AP - Australian driver Troy Critchley is being sued by the father of one of six people killed when the Queenslander's drag racer crashed into a crowd at a US charity event.
The organisers of the June 16 event at Selmer in Tennessee are also being sued by Bruce Replogle, the father of 15-year-old crash victim Scarlett Replogle.
He is seeking $US10 million ($A11.8 million) in damages.
Authorities say 36-year-old veteran Critchley lost control of his dragster while performing an exhibition burnout - spinning the car's back tyres to send up clouds of smoke - during a parade at the annual Cars for Kids charity event.
Besides the six killed, 23 spectators were treated in hospital.
Replogle alleges event organiser Larry Price failed to obtain a permit for the parade and failed to take precautions to ensure the safety of spectators. The father also accuses Price of encouraging drivers to do unsafe burnouts to attract crowds, despite warnings that they were not safe.
Texas-based Critchley is accused of being negligent by failing to maintain control of his vehicle and performing dangerous tricks without making sure spectators were protected.
Replogle accuses the vehicle's owner, AMS Staff Leasing Inc, of negligence by failing to make sure the car was in proper working order and allowing it to be driven by Critchley, who had an "unsafe driving record," the suit claims.
Critchley, who has not spoken publicly since the accident, was convicted of drunken driving in Virginia in 2000.
A call to Price's home in Selmer went unanswered. He has retained Memphis attorney Steve Farese, who did not immediately return a message left at his office after hours.
A message left at the Dallas office of AMS Staff Leasing was not immediately returned.
Replogle's attorney, Lewis L. Cobb, did not immediately return a message left after business hours.
Besides damages, Replogle seeks to stop Price and Cars for Kids from holding another event in Selmer without a detailed safety plan.
Critchley, who was said to be devastated by the accident, could also be charged over the deaths, Tennessee district attorney general Mike Dunavant said last week.
But Critchley's AMS Racing team last week pointed to the involvement of the local police in organising the exhibition, saying officers were responsible for blocking off the highway and were in charge of crowd placement.


©AAP 2007

AH HA! Let the finger pointing begin! Sounds to me like a whole lot of people have got their necks in this noose.

It's still being reported as a "drag racing" accident.

.........soo hows that 10 mil going to bring his son back or make this event any safer..............

It won't, but it is the only way to find out if negligence truly happened. You let a group of your peers hear all the evidence, and they either say "Yep, this should not have happened, or no, what they did was ok."

As a Father, you can bet your bottom dollar if this had happened to one of my Son's, I would have gone the same route.......not to line my own pockets, but to get some justice, and to try to make sure others learn from this so it never happens again. Then, if I were to prevail, I would set up a fund in my Son's name and try to help others.

There isn't enough money in the world to replace a Child, but it is the only way we have in this country to get our case heard and get people to amend their ways.

Don