PGA Pro goes street racing, ends with fatality
There isn't always a lot of overlap between the world of golf and our own automotive realm. Tiger gets some folks interested in Buicks and there are the occasional holes-in-one that result in a set of keys for the lucky ball striker, but other than that, we don't usually cross paths very much. Sadly, today is one of those days. PGA golfer Arjun Atwal was involved in an incident that resulted in the death of a fellow motorist outside Disney World in Orlando, Florida on March 10.
Although no criminal charges have been filed, witnesses have said that Atwal and the other driver, John N. Park, were street racing. Documents from the Florida Highway Patrol say that Atwal estimated his speed at around 80 mph on the 45 mph road, although witnesses said they thought the speeds were more like 100 mph. Atwal was driving his 2006 BMW M6 alongside Park in a 2006 Mercedes-Benz CLS55 when the Benz "flipped and killed its driver." Park apparently lost control, clipped a fence and small tree and the car somersaulted up to eight times, disintegrating in the process.
The investigation is ongoing, but it doesn't appear the two vehicles collided or that either driver was impaired by alcohol or drugs at the time of the accident.
Thanks for the tip, Bobby.
[Source: AP via AOL]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
DPC car videos 4:17PM (3/23/2007)
Very sad to hear, he looks like old enough not to street race. Must admit both cars are super fast at nearly 500 horsepower a piece and can get to 100mph in seconds. It is also surprising to hear both cars crashed, usually in a street race accident one car crashes while the other gets away.
http://www.dpccars.com
DPCcars
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Nick 4:17PM (3/23/2007)
Schmucks
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Adam 4:19PM (3/23/2007)
I assume that the guy that died wasn't wearing a seat belt because it would be hard to die in either of those cars. If that is the case how stupid.
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DPC car videos 4:22PM (3/23/2007)
By the way Arjun Atwal is 33 yers old.
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Carlos 4:23PM (3/23/2007)
80 on a 45 doesn't necessarily sound like death speeds. Just bad luck that one of them lost it and killed himself.
I don't see why the other driver should be held liable; I'd charge him with speeding and reckless driving and call it a day.
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Will 4:29PM (3/23/2007)
I live in this area, and you'd be surprised how many people race on the highways surrounding Orlando. One thing that sets this city apart from most others is that it's perfectly flat, and that may have something to do with a driver's judgement regarding safety. Driving around D.C., one is more cautious because of the blind corners and hills, but here in Florida, especially on highway A1A on the coast, it's open road.
I don't know if the street layout has anything to do with the number of races we have around here, jsut throwing out a theory.
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BKadalur 4:33PM (3/23/2007)
it doesn't say anything about atwal crashing his car.
yea, 2 guys in 500hp cars. i can vouch for myself saying i have ego problems in an audi a4. imagine a guy in an M6 or a CLS55.
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Nick 4:33PM (3/23/2007)
Don't kid yourself. 80mph to 100mph is more than fast enough to kill a driver, especially when you flip the thing. This is the reason the Corvette is the most flipped car out there, or at least has been.
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NeoteriX 4:37PM (3/23/2007)
Because some state laws assign liability to other participants in a street race, when an accident happens.
Don't know about Florida though.
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paul34 5:09PM (3/23/2007)
In my town, too, huh?
I hate to say it, but honestly, if you're going to street race, then if you die without killing anyone else... well, let's just say that no one will miss you. Thanks for cleaning up the gene pool.
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Quattrofan 6:40PM (3/23/2007)
That Merc has more electronic safeguards then space shuttle, yet this guy somehow manages to kill himself. Some skill.
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Jim 5:34PM (3/23/2007)
you wrote:
when the Benz "flipped and killed its driver."
The Benz did NOT kill its driver. The DRIVER of the Benz KILLED HIMSELF by being wreckless. Let's just be correct about who did what. The car is not capable of killing anyone, only the driver is capable of that.
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Billy 5:36PM (3/23/2007)
If he really flipped eight times he just beat James Bond's recent record in the Aston.
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Justin 5:45PM (3/23/2007)
#11, you couldn't be more right, I don't know why park should be at fault of the other guy's death. he didn't put a gun to his head.
if you're behind the wheel, you are responsible. not if some other douche rolls up next to you and revs.
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Billy 5:41PM (3/23/2007)
http://www.autoblog.com/2007/03/12/the-details-and-pictures-on-bonds-crashed-aston/
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wetstuff 10:09AM (3/24/2007)
There's plenty of available seats in Darwin's Waiting Room. Next!
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Mike 6:33PM (3/23/2007)
ATWAL WILL GET BUSTED FOR CONTRIBUTING TO THE ACCIDENT AND PROBABLY GET MANSLAUGHTER AND PROBATION. YES HE IS PARTLY AT FAULT BECAUSE A RACE IS A 50/50 DECISION IF YOU HAVE NO ONE TO RACE YOU DON'T NORMALLY GO STREET RACING.
ALSO, 80 MPH IS DEF ENOUGH TO KILL YOU HELL A GUY DIED IN AN ENZO IN UTAH DOING ONLY 100 THE SPEED DOESN'T MATTER IT'S THE MECHANISM OF INJURY.
#12 AHHHHHHHH AH AHA HA AH AH AHA TOO FUNNY I TOTALLY KNOW WHAT UR TALKING ABOUT
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chad.dawkins 6:16PM (3/23/2007)
It's sad, but I don't think the other guy should be charged. I wonder what happened to cause him to lose control like that though. Benzes(especally AMGs) handle triple digit speeds easily. Do those come with run flats? That's the only thing I could think of that would cause the wreck.
Not to seem wreckless, but if a CLS55 and a M6 roll up on each other then they almost have to race. Chances are if you bought one then you considered buying the other or you hate the other. It's kind of like if a STi and an Evo pop up at a streetlight.
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Billy 6:20PM (3/23/2007)
11. 15. Guys, Park may have been reckless, but he certainly wasn't wreckless.
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TSW 6:23PM (3/23/2007)
Ok, something is seriously wrong with this. It's hard to die in a modern Mercedes. Either he didn't have his seatbelt on, or he flipped the car onto a tree and it skewered him.
If this teaches us anything, it's that BMW > MBZ.
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