CNN REPORTS


CNN) -- Five young men died Saturday when the car they were in drove off the end of a private airstrip near Ocala, Florida, became airborne for 200 feet and slammed into an oak tree, authorities said.


The 2008 BMW was split in two in the violent wreck. All of the victims died at the scene.

1 of 3 "This had to be the worst vehicle crash that I have ever seen during my career," said Randy Robinson, a spokesman for the Emergency Medical Services Alliance with 27 years on the job.

The 2008 BMW was split in two in the wreck, which happened at 3:45 a.m., said Lt. Mike Burroughs, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol Troop B.

He told CNN the victims -- 18 to 20 years old and all from the area -- were declared dead at the scene.

Burroughs said it was not clear how the car got onto the private Greystone community airstrip -- the same one actor John Travolta uses for his aircraft -- but the car was driving north on Runway 36, which is 1.5 miles long.

"It is evident that the driver of the vehicle saw he was approaching the end of the runway," Burroughs said. "He attempted a braking maneuver and the vehicle slid sideways off the end of the runway."

The car flew through the air for 200 feet, he said, and struck an oak tree 15 feet off the ground, splitting the vehicle in two.

Three of the occupants were ejected -- one landing 40 feet away, Burroughs said.

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The engine block of the BMW was completely dislodged and wreckage from the car was found over a 200-square-foot area, the FHP spokesman said.

It was not known if the victims were wearing seat belts and the agency was awaiting the results of toxicology tests from the medical examiner's office to find out if alcohol or drugs played a role, Burroughs said.

The airstrip's private taxiways back up to homes in the Jumbolair and Greystone gated communities. E-mail to a friend

 

Yikes! You can barely tell the wreckage was a car much less a BMW M5. SAD, SAD, SAD!

 

MORE INFO

Florida Highway officers said a gray 2008 BMW was traveling on an airstrip after 3:30 a.m. Saturday near Jumbolair Aviation Estates when it sailed off an 80- to 85-foot elevated embankment at the runway.

The vehicle was speeding in excess of 100 mph when it left the ground and traveled 200 feet into a large tree, Local 6 has learned. The vehicle hit the tree about 15 feet above the ground.

Three of the passengers were ejected from the vehicle upon impact.

Troopers identified the victims as James Hime, 19, Jacob Casey, 19, Joshua Ammirato, 18, Isaac Rubin, 20 and Dustin Dawe, 19.

Police said the victims were friends and had just left a party before the crash.

Neighbors in the 1400 block of Northeast 95th Street said that they were awakened by a bang that shook their house.

FHP officials investigating the crash said there were skid marks at the end of the runway.

 

Ya saw heres a few other earlier posts on it... Men? They're kids... 19 20 18?... playing with daddy's M5... seeing how fast it can go on the runway and didnt realize how much runway they really had... not a good ending...

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?showtopic=49936

http://forums.e60.net/index.php?s=&sho...st&p=523158

 

Definately Tragic...

 

Tragic, but without wanting to sound too heartless, thank god these idiots were playing on a private runway and not a public road. Idiotic pointless waste of lives, completely avoidable, and stupid.

 

Agreed...good that they did not take a plane out either.

 

"not known if they were wearing seatbets" - yea right, that would have made all the difference!

 

Another sad story of youth and bad judgement. I live down the road where this happened yesterday.

http://www.nhra.com/content/news/26442.htm

 

Oh man that hurts! did they know what happened? how the accident happened?