Sentra involved in drag race fatalities

[Jack Daniels]

Two men killed in crash may have been drag racing
By Joe Hughes
STAFF WRITER

January 5, 2002

Two military men who died from injuries suffered in a
fiery crash in North Park on Thursday night may have
been drag racing, authorities said yesterday.

The identities of the 19-year-old driver and his
20-year-old passenger were not released. The driver
died at a hospital shortly after the crash and the
passenger died in the wreckage about 10:20 p.m.
Thursday.

Witnesses told police that moments before the crash on
Park Boulevard at Upas Street, an Acura Legend and a
Nissan Sentra were racing, traffic Sgt. Alan Clark
said.

The driver of the 1992 Acura lost control of his
vehicle, the car sliding sideways into a pole at Park
and Upas. The Acura was catapulted, striking a parked
vehicle and bursting into flames.

Police said they want to talk to the driver of the
Nissan, who did not stop. Witnesses can call traffic
investigator Dan Wall at (858) 495-7800.

"We just want to know what happened prior to the
crash," said Clark.

The driver of the Nissan does not face arrest, he
said.

If drag racing was a factor, it would mark the first
deaths involving late-night racing in San Diego County
since 1998, when eight people died during a two-month
period.

As a result of the earlier problem, police instituted
a crackdown on street racing, using a $400,000 state
grant to fund a specialized enforcement unit.

One of the operations for the Drag-Net unit occurred
Dec. 15, when police arrested eight people and
impounded seven cars from National City to Oceanside.

Other operations are planned, especially in areas
where drag racing at night occurs.