A Goodbye for Dylan
Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:46 am
Half an our ago, I was informed that Dylan Hurley, a boy I knew growing up, whose family is friends with mine, passed away.
He was in a car with three other boys. A friend of his was driving. They were going over 100mph when they hit a curve, lost control of the car, and veered off of the road. None of them were wearing seatbelts. The car flipped four times:
All four boys, who were not wearing their seatbelts, were thrown from the car. They were rushed to the hospital. The driver broke his back, the other two boys were substantially injured, but Dylan wasn't as lucky.
Earlier today, he was in critical condition and unconscious. A test at around 4PM showed that Dylan was completely braindead. He wasn't responding well to the respirator and the doctors couldn't keep his blood pressure even. They tested him again an hour later in the hopes that the first result had been wrong, but the test again showed that Dylan had become a vegetable. At 10PM this evening, he was removed from life support.
He was only 19 years old.
He had his entire life ahead of him, and one moment of reckless stupidity ruined it all. Not only are things over for him, but the other boys as well. They will be crippled. The boy who was driving the car will be charged with vehicular manslaughter.
When you get behind the wheel of a car or ride with anyone, think of Dylan. If the driver is going too fast, tell them to slow down. Make it a priority to use your seatbelt. It only takes one time goofing off in a car to ruin or end your life. You could end up a vegetable, a cripple, dead, or doing jail time with a friend's death on your conscience.
A perfectly nice boy died tonight, a mere shell of a human being. Please, use your judgement.
-Fidds
He was in a car with three other boys. A friend of his was driving. They were going over 100mph when they hit a curve, lost control of the car, and veered off of the road. None of them were wearing seatbelts. The car flipped four times:
All four boys, who were not wearing their seatbelts, were thrown from the car. They were rushed to the hospital. The driver broke his back, the other two boys were substantially injured, but Dylan wasn't as lucky.
Earlier today, he was in critical condition and unconscious. A test at around 4PM showed that Dylan was completely braindead. He wasn't responding well to the respirator and the doctors couldn't keep his blood pressure even. They tested him again an hour later in the hopes that the first result had been wrong, but the test again showed that Dylan had become a vegetable. At 10PM this evening, he was removed from life support.
He was only 19 years old.
He had his entire life ahead of him, and one moment of reckless stupidity ruined it all. Not only are things over for him, but the other boys as well. They will be crippled. The boy who was driving the car will be charged with vehicular manslaughter.
When you get behind the wheel of a car or ride with anyone, think of Dylan. If the driver is going too fast, tell them to slow down. Make it a priority to use your seatbelt. It only takes one time goofing off in a car to ruin or end your life. You could end up a vegetable, a cripple, dead, or doing jail time with a friend's death on your conscience.
A perfectly nice boy died tonight, a mere shell of a human being. Please, use your judgement.
-Fidds
Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:53 am
I'm so sorry, Fidds.
Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:53 am
All in the name of driving within the speed limit and wearing a seat belt being uncool.
Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:06 am
-hug- I'm sorry.
And that's why I always wear a seatbelt. -nodnod-
And that's why I always wear a seatbelt. -nodnod-
Fri Oct 28, 2005 3:42 am
It's so scary to think that this could happen to anyone I know.
Fri Oct 28, 2005 6:38 am
Ugh... I'm sorry to hear it was someone you knew in that car. 
Is wearing a seatbelt not a legal requirement? I'm so used to putting mine on when I get in a car that it would feel very strange to go anywhere without wearing one.
Well, it sounds like the driver will be in hospital for a long time, and will suffer from that moment of stupidity for the rest of his life - both physiaclly and mentally. Are the police going to prosecute him for dangerous driving/manslaughter? The only fortunate thing I suppose you could say about the whole affair is that they did not hit another car or pedestrians.
There have been a couple of fatal crashes * around here over the last year-and-a-half, both caused by young male drivers driving beyond their abilities. Both involved the deaths of innocent victims going in the opposite direction who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
* In this accident it has been estimated that the BMW was travelling so fast when the driver lost control that it hit the kerb, became airborne and travelled over the central reservation Armco barrier without damaging it. It then hit the Freelander (not exactly a small car by any means) so hard that it ripped it into two halves. That anyone survived is amazing.
I apologise for ranting but this is something that gets me angry, it's such a tragic unnecessary waste of young lives. Drive within the limits of your ability. Take note of weather conditions. Wear a seatbelt, for goodness' sake. A car is a weapon of mass destruction in the wrong hands.
Is wearing a seatbelt not a legal requirement? I'm so used to putting mine on when I get in a car that it would feel very strange to go anywhere without wearing one.
Well, it sounds like the driver will be in hospital for a long time, and will suffer from that moment of stupidity for the rest of his life - both physiaclly and mentally. Are the police going to prosecute him for dangerous driving/manslaughter? The only fortunate thing I suppose you could say about the whole affair is that they did not hit another car or pedestrians.
There have been a couple of fatal crashes * around here over the last year-and-a-half, both caused by young male drivers driving beyond their abilities. Both involved the deaths of innocent victims going in the opposite direction who just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
* In this accident it has been estimated that the BMW was travelling so fast when the driver lost control that it hit the kerb, became airborne and travelled over the central reservation Armco barrier without damaging it. It then hit the Freelander (not exactly a small car by any means) so hard that it ripped it into two halves. That anyone survived is amazing.
I apologise for ranting but this is something that gets me angry, it's such a tragic unnecessary waste of young lives. Drive within the limits of your ability. Take note of weather conditions. Wear a seatbelt, for goodness' sake. A car is a weapon of mass destruction in the wrong hands.
Fri Oct 28, 2005 12:16 pm
I'm so sorry to hear about your loss, Fiddleysquat. I've lost a few friends to car crashes, although often it was the variety that was unsurvivable, so seat belts were not able to help. If anything, maybe a few of the drivers in your area, teen or otherwise, might consider wearing their seat belt more frequently because this happened, even if only for the short-term. I hope all the family members and friends of these young men find the strength to get through it all, especially if some of the injuries were completely life-altering, which they will likely be in a crash of this magnitude.
Sparky--Most states in the US have seatbelts laws, but not all. And quite a few still have secondary enforcement laws, which means that a person can only be ticketed for not wearing a seat belt if they've been pulled over for some other offense first. I believe the data on which states do and do not have seat belt laws, as well as they are primary/secondary or have pickup truck exemptions can be found on the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) website. I think.
I worked as an Undergraduate, Graduate, and regular Research Assistant at a transportation safety center at a major university for 5 years. My areas of research were the fatal crashes of young drivers and impaired drivers in Indiana. Let me say that while it was sometimes a very fulfilling job (our research was used by the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous driving to help pass new transportation safety laws), most of the time, I would leave work extremely depressed. Especially since a few times, I would find myself reading the fatal crash reports of acquaitances that I didn't know had died. I'm out of that job now, but transportation safety (I'm still a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician) is still very important to me.
You'll be in my thoughts Fiddleysquat. No matter how close (or not) someone is to you, their death can still affect you. Be well.
Sparky--Most states in the US have seatbelts laws, but not all. And quite a few still have secondary enforcement laws, which means that a person can only be ticketed for not wearing a seat belt if they've been pulled over for some other offense first. I believe the data on which states do and do not have seat belt laws, as well as they are primary/secondary or have pickup truck exemptions can be found on the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) website. I think.
I worked as an Undergraduate, Graduate, and regular Research Assistant at a transportation safety center at a major university for 5 years. My areas of research were the fatal crashes of young drivers and impaired drivers in Indiana. Let me say that while it was sometimes a very fulfilling job (our research was used by the Governor's Council on Impaired and Dangerous driving to help pass new transportation safety laws), most of the time, I would leave work extremely depressed. Especially since a few times, I would find myself reading the fatal crash reports of acquaitances that I didn't know had died. I'm out of that job now, but transportation safety (I'm still a NHTSA Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician) is still very important to me.
You'll be in my thoughts Fiddleysquat. No matter how close (or not) someone is to you, their death can still affect you. Be well.
Fri Oct 28, 2005 12:54 pm
I'm so sorry to hear that =( In my last year of high school I lost a friend who had been my best friend in the beginning 2 years of high school in a car crash. She was wearing her seat belt but tried to overtake too fast on a corner, I wish people would just slow down and drive more carefully - the consequences are just too severe not to. Before that year for the last 6 years one 6th year pupil had died in a car crash each year.
And people wonder why at 22 I haven't learned to drive yet. I get anxious whenever my bf goes in a car without me, stupid I know but I can't help it. Please everyone do wear a seatbelt, especially if you live somewhere where it isn't compulsory and second nature to do so. And please slow down. I'm so sorry again Fidds.
And people wonder why at 22 I haven't learned to drive yet. I get anxious whenever my bf goes in a car without me, stupid I know but I can't help it. Please everyone do wear a seatbelt, especially if you live somewhere where it isn't compulsory and second nature to do so. And please slow down. I'm so sorry again Fidds.
Fri Oct 28, 2005 12:56 pm
Sorry to hear that, Fidds.
My friend's mum died in a car crash 2 and a half years ago. We're not sure how it happened (she had her seatbelt on and she was the world's most careful driver) and it's so horrible.
My friend's mum died in a car crash 2 and a half years ago. We're not sure how it happened (she had her seatbelt on and she was the world's most careful driver) and it's so horrible.
Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:09 pm
... this all sounds so sad...
and it scares me... I know a really good friend that would speed a little for thrills when he gets old enough to drive (still wearing a seat belt)... It really saddens me how people do these things...
I heard a story of these people that were driving at 100 km/h down a pretty empty road at the middle of the night without there lights on... hit a wall, and there life was taken... just like that... torn away...
now I am getting myself all sad
... so many people appear to die from these things... I hope it doesn't happen to me...
Fri Oct 28, 2005 2:57 pm
I'm sorry Fidds. *hugs*
I've also had a friend who died in a car accident, it just shows you how easy it is. You need to be safe. Don't drink and drive, don't go speeding around town- it's common sense. You may find it fun- but it's not so fun when you kill someone, or kill yourself.
I've also had a friend who died in a car accident, it just shows you how easy it is. You need to be safe. Don't drink and drive, don't go speeding around town- it's common sense. You may find it fun- but it's not so fun when you kill someone, or kill yourself.
Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:17 pm
My uncle died of a brain hemmorage due to a motorcycle accident =/
He was completely reckless though.
He was completely reckless though.
Fri Oct 28, 2005 7:20 pm
Oh, I'm so sorry, Fidds. I remember my dad talking about how he knew a boy that was drag racing with his friends in an empty parking lot during the night, and he swerved and lost control and died. He even showed us the spot where he lost control of the car. It scares me how often people are killed in car accidents - there's a girl at my school who lost her mother in an accident, and she was in the car with her and her sister. One broke her leg and the other broke her arm, but their mom died. It was really upsetting, and I felt so bad for her.
I remember my dad talking about how he knew a boy that was drag racing with his friends in an empty parking lot during the night, and he swerved and lost control and died. He even showed us the spot where he lost control of the car. It scares me how often people are killed in car accidents - there's a girl at my school who lost her mother in an accident, and she was in the car with her and her sister. One broke her leg and the other broke her arm, but their mom died. It was really upsetting, and I felt so bad for her.
Fri Oct 28, 2005 8:54 pm
I heard about the accident in the news. I didn't really know him well, but feel really bad about it.
The school had a moment of silence in the morning to remember Dylan and the others in the crash. I don't remember the names, but one may be paralyzed and one other has gone home with a broken leg. The accident happened only a few miles from my house, which made it very upsetting.
The school had a moment of silence in the morning to remember Dylan and the others in the crash. I don't remember the names, but one may be paralyzed and one other has gone home with a broken leg. The accident happened only a few miles from my house, which made it very upsetting.