Another California Crackdown

Paolino · Aug 24, 2005

Another California Crackdown

I read a related story in Import Tuner I think it was, about the 2nd degree murder for illegal street racing ending in death, ragrdless if you are in the accident or not. If you're racing and the other guy kills someone, you get charged too. Personally I agree. Take it to the track, and leave it there.

SAN DIEGO â€” George Waller Jr. and Lawrence Calhoun lived for the night. When the sun went down, they traded their mundane day jobs for gleaming cars with souped-up engines and joined the cavalcade of other hot rods prowling the city streets in search of a drag race.

Then on one Sunday night last fall, Waller, in a vintage Plymouth, squared off against Calhoun and his blue El Camino. But neither crossed the finish line that night.

The race ended in a fireball of screeching tires and crumpled metal that left a pair of teenage sweethearts dead, another teen gravely injured and Waller and Calhoun facing murder charges and 30 years in prison.

George Waller Jr. was driving the Plymouth that crashed into another car, killing two.

Their trial, set to begin Wednesday, is the first San Diego murder case stemming from a drag race and unfolds in a city already at war with the street racing subculture. Shanna Jump and Brian Hanson, the victims of Calhoun and Waller's race, were just two of 16 people killed as the result of illegal street races in San Diego last year.

In this southern California city of 1.2 million an entire unit of undercover police detectives works full time to infiltrate the drag racing circles. Concerned citizens try to discourage street races with safe and legal competitions at the local stadium and the city has outlawed even watching the races.

Brian Hanson, one of two who died in the accident

But street racing, with its speed, excitement and glamorization in movies such as "The Fast and the Furious," still proves magnetic to young people. Authorities hope charging Calhoun and Waller, fixtures of the local drag racing scene, with murder sends a strong message that street racers risk not only the lives of innocent bystanders, but also their own freedom.

On Oct. 6, Waller, a 32-year-old school custodian, met up with Calhoun, a 29-year-old employed by a heating and air conditioning company, on a quarter-mile stretch of Imperial Avenue known for drag racing.

According to the prosecution, both men were driving cars that had been modified to go faster than normal vehicles. Calhoun's 1984 Chevrolet El Camino had a distinctive instrument panel and a special fuel line. Waller's 1968 Plymouth Barracuda sported extra horsepower.

One motorist on Imperial Avenue that night told police that he heard the roar of engines behind him shortly before 7 p.m. and pulled to a side street in fear.

The motorist said the El Camino and the Barracuda were coursing down Imperial Avenue side by side. The Barracuda, he recalled, had its headlights off and the vehicles appeared to be going 100 miles per hour. The speed limit was 50 mph.

Shanna Jump was making a left turn in her Geo when she was hit. She did not survive.

At about the same time, 19-year-old college student Shanna Jump was driving her Geo Storm in the opposite direction along Imperial. Her boyfriend, Brian Hanson, and his 17-year-old brother, Michael, were passengers.

According to police accident reconstruction experts, Jump slowed her vehicle and attempted to make a left hand turn in front of Calhoun and Waller. Waller's Barracuda, going about 87 mph, collided with the Geo, which was going about 12 mph. The Geo suffered "catastrophic" damage.

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e_andree · Aug 24, 2005

I agree too. If ya race, take the consequences

Cuztomrollaz98 · Aug 24, 2005

yep, no other way out.

JspeXAE102 · Aug 24, 2005

thats nothing new.

Fgca_rolla · Aug 24, 2005

JspeXAE102 said:

thats nothing new.

New or not its still sad either way...

vortex · Aug 25, 2005

sad yes, but its nothing new... stuff like this has been going on since automobiles first touched the roads.

Bulletproofswordsman · Aug 26, 2005

and it will continue to happen till they arent on the road anymore

Cuztomrollaz98 · Aug 26, 2005

sadly this is the way it'll always be unless they cut the supplies of aftermarket parts for cars but even if they do ppl will still buy them illegaly but I dk either way streetracing and racing is gonna be a part of life forever

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Another California Crackdown

Paolino SolidTuned

e_andree E

Cuztomrollaz98 MAD VLAD!

JspeXAE102 Well-Known Member

Fgca_rolla milky cocopuffs

vortex Well-Known Member

Bulletproofswordsman JDM Oroku-Saki

Cuztomrollaz98 MAD VLAD!

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Another California Crackdown

Paolino SolidTuned

e_andree E

Cuztomrollaz98 MAD VLAD!

JspeXAE102 Well-Known Member

Fgca_rolla milky cocopuffs

vortex Well-Known Member

Bulletproofswordsman JDM Oroku-Saki

Cuztomrollaz98 MAD VLAD!

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