An innocent driver is dead after a man allegedly participating in an illegal street race this week in southern California triggered a violent multi-car collision that nearly destroyed seven cars and left several other drivers with minor injuries, according to CBS Los Angeles.
California Highway Patrol officers told CBS that prior to the crash, 38-year-old Anthony Lopez was seen speeding and weaving in and out of traffic in his silver BMW as he appeared to be racing another driver. One witness said she saw the cars flying towards her in her rear view mirror and managed to pull off the road just in time to avoid being struck.
Unfortunately, Lopez soon rear-ended what appears to have once been a Nissan Versa at an estimated 80-90 mph, completely obliterating the small hatchback and killing its 62-year-old driver. The force of the impact pushed the Nissan into several other cars, triggering a chain reaction crash that ultimately wrapped up five more innocent drivers.
Police responded and arrested Lopez after a sobriety test revealed he was driving under the influence. According to ABC 7 News, the driver he was allegedly racing claims he too was scared of Lopez' dangerous driving and was only speeding in an attempt to get away from him. It took crews hours to clear away all the cars involved, but we think it'd be better to simply leave them all in the road as a permanent memorial to both the deceased driver and the monumental stupidity of street racing.