Teen drives 142 mph only to be later than planned
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"It might be the fastest speed ever recorded on the northwestern Indiana county's roads," said Porter County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Emmons," most people's cars won't go that fast." Not really the thing you necessarily want to be known for during your first year of licensed driving. We can't imagine what the perceived punishment was going to be, but it was obviously severe enough that Brandon Rapp, 16, was clocked doing 142 miles per hour in his Subaru Impreza (WRX?) in an effort not to be late getting home.
The teen now faces charges of speeding (87 over the limit!) and misdemeanor reckless driving, either of which could cost him his license.
Mr. Rapp was stopped at 12:40AM on a stretch US 30 and informed officers that he was speeding so his parents wouldn't be mad at him for being home late. The officer wrote the tickets and told the young driver to go straight home and call him within the hour. When she asked where he was, the 16-year-old's mother made the call to the officer and got the whole story. If he thought he was in trouble for being late and was willing to risk driving 142 miles per hour, we don't even want to think about what might have happened after that phone call.
Thanks to Kurt B for the tip!
{source: Indy Star]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Mark MacLeod 1:34AM (12/13/2006)
I've driven in that area before...
"It might be the fastest speed ever recorded on the northwestern Indiana county's roads", he said.
mmmm hmmm
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JW 1:47AM (12/13/2006)
A 16 year old doesn't need a WRX or any kind of new car, much less any teenager. So hopefully he gets his license revoked and his car taken away. At least he didn't wreck like the Enzo drivers.
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will 1:55AM (12/13/2006)
only 142? I hit 150 in a family friend's porsche cayenne turbo. Ah, the joys of being 16 and stupid...
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John 2:30AM (12/13/2006)
Death happens to a 16 year old with a powerful car.
Let's pray he won't die this year.
It happens.
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Vega 2:49AM (12/13/2006)
Being from Germany, I don't know what all the fuss is about... Speed doesn't kill, inattentiveness does. But I agree, 16 is a bit young for doing this kind of stuff, because teenage Testosterone can also be lethal...
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Jay 3:34PM (12/13/2006)
WRX's theoretical top speed is 145mph, STi's is 155, Legacy GT is limited at 136
My vote is the kid was in an STi
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GTO 8:16AM (12/13/2006)
Exactly. Doesn't everyone go 140MPH on county roads?
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rograndom 8:47AM (12/13/2006)
The standard WRX is drag limited to 140ish so this is probably what he had. The STI has a top speed of 155ish.
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Quattrofan 9:02AM (12/13/2006)
No question it was an STi. Parents of this spoiled little shithead are idiots. I'd want to talk to those parents too if I was I cop.
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Brian 10:06AM (12/13/2006)
US 30 in Porter County Indiana is a proper 4-lane divided highway, and a nice smooth one at that. Late at night it's fairly deserted as well.
I will say that the Porter County Sheriff's Police have some very nice officers. When I was in college I was pulled over for doing double the speed limit on an actual county road in Porter County. The officer kindly informed me that writing me a ticket would make my insurance go up too much, so we just chatted for a bit and then went our separate ways.
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Brian 10:14AM (12/13/2006)
Also, in Indiana drivers under 18 are not allowed to drive between 1AM and 5AM on Fridays and Saturdays and 11PM and 5AM the rest of the week. Maybe this kid was speeding so he could get home before his license was invalid!
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Kumar 11:58AM (12/13/2006)
Also, in Indiana, you're not allowed to drive without a license or insurance. That doesn't stop anyone else from being stupid. We're too busy here in Indiana dealing with the meth scourge that the state ignored for 10 years (among the usual other problems) to have to worry about little things like speeding and driving up everyone else's insurance rates!
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Chris 2:38PM (12/13/2006)
Ah, to be sixteen and stupid again. I once took my parents minivan past 100 mph as the Atlanta rush hour was beginning, with a cute girl in the passenger seat of course.
I salute those who survived their teenage years and still managed to pull off stunts like that. My advice to 142mph boy: when you get your license back (i.e. when you move out of the home, because you know your parents are never going to let you drive again), invest in a V1.
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MikeW 5:35PM (12/13/2006)
The old 220hp 2.0's were about 140 [maybe Subaru should have put a 6 speed manual 5,10,15,20,25,30, then 150 @ peak power in 5th would be do-able stock]
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sfast 1:26AM (12/14/2006)
At least he was driving a car that wasn't so hard to control at that speed(relatively of course). He could have been driving something that handles like crap, say an Impala SS.
But one question: How did they stop him? Or why did he stop. Seems like he had some good chances of getting away. And don't tell me he wouldn't run from the cops because "he isn't that stupid."
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UrbanDavid 3:29AM (12/14/2006)
Well, US30 in Porter County may be smooth and deserted at that hour but it's no cake walk. If he was between Merrilville and Valparaiso there are really only two possible stretches for that speed... between 500W and the last light in Merrilville or between 500W and the first light (250W) in Valparaiso. The first choice introducing a dip that would be pretty nasty at that speed and the latter choice being pretty short at that speed. Either way, very dangerous. This isn't a federal highway with guard rails and on-ramps, it's a state highway with cross streets and lights.
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Nino Hardt 9:34AM (12/14/2006)
China: Rice bag fallen over....
I often go like 120 mph and people are still overtaking me... Well up to 160 mph I think is controllable. So what's the problem here? Speed limit's outdated I guess, as cars have advanced a lot while speed limits haven't.
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Cray 1:00AM (12/16/2006)
What I find fascinating is that most people don't realize that speeding isn't going to save you time. If there was any time he might saved a few small minutes, not an hour or 30 minutes. But it also depends how far the drive was.
Once your late, there's no way to gain that time back. All you can do is speed to cutdown just how late you are.
Doing 142mph in a tiny Subaru is just plain retarded.
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John 5:13PM (12/16/2006)
UrbanDavid...you are close. He was clocked at 330w US30 and stopped 2.5 miles east of there in Valparaiso. My Crown Vic doesn't accelerate as fast as the little WRX STI does! BTW, I hear the car has already been sold.
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Imprez04 10:52PM (12/17/2006)
hah, it could easily be a wrx... ive gone 140ish in mine when it was stock... on a track... yea... right
anyway, hes just an idiot in general... fist he is going 140... second, you are going 140, why the hell would you stop for a cop who is either going 70ish, 0 or the other way...
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