Car doing 'donuts' on Alabama street hits another drag racing vehicle, injures 16 including 5-year-old boy
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA: As the investigation continues, the toll of the injured in the horrific exhibition driving crash on John Rogers Drive at Gun Club Road Friday night on December 9 at about 9.10 pm in Birmingham has risen to 16 with one driver in custody without any charges yet. Two, including a five-year-old boy, still remain critical while the condition of seven others is being reportedly stable.
The driver of an automobile was "doing donuts" when they lost control of the car and crashed into another car that was drag racing, according to Birmingham Police Department officer Truman Fitzgerald. Two of the people who were hit by the cars are in critical condition. A boy aged 5 is the youngest victim. Friday night's initial reports stated that 13 persons had been hurt, as per CBS42.
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Only two of the victims were still in critical condition as of Monday, the officer added, despite the police initially reported that nine individuals were seriously injured. Witnesses told AL that when a Dodge Charger started doing donuts, there was already a street race going on. Fitzgerald said on Monday that one of the competing cars, a Nissan 350z, hit the Charger which started burning, sending it into the crowd of onlookers. Several persons were laying on the road after being hit by one of the vehicles, with a female trapped under one of them, according to the original first responder transmission.
Firefighters from Birmingham, Irondale, Cahaba Valley, and Trussville as well as officers from Irondale and Birmingham arrived on the site. Numerous onlookers observed the display driving, according to the witnesses. A portion of the collision was caught on camera. After the collision, several worried family members arrived on the site. According to Fitzgerald, there may be criminal charges filed.
Birmingham city councilor Hunter Williams says exhibition driving and street racing are major problems in the city of Birmingham and the state of Alabama for that matter, as per WVTM. "It's quite frankly unacceptable," Williams says. "And what we absolutely have to do as a community is say this will not be tolerated. And I urge all of the leadership, especially from the district attorney's office, to not only prosecute those involved in driving but also the spectators as well."
In an earlier incident, a woman was killed, and four others were injured in August at a parking lot in the 800 block of Second Avenue North where drivers were doing burnouts and donuts when gunfire erupted. A 14-year-old boy was killed in July when he was struck by a vehicle watching an exhibition driving in Birmingham. Councilor Williams does say he sees light at the end of the tunnel. He's hopeful the state legislature will pass a bill in the upcoming session that will allow law enforcement to prosecute those involved in exhibition driving and street racing. The legislation would carry five to 90 days in jail and a fine ranging from $25 to $500 for a first conviction. A second conviction would increase jail time from 10 days to six months and/or a fine ranging from $50 to $500. Driving privileges may also be revoked for up to six months.