Speed saves? Saleen Mustang stunt driver evades gunman
On his way home one night, Chris Wilks was driving his black 1999 Saleen Mustang in Dallas when a mysterious Chevy Avalanche drove up beside him as though the driver wanted to say something. Used to the attention his 425h-p muscle car attracted, Wilks thought nothing of it and kept on driving. Up ahead, the two vehicles came to a stop light, and suddenly the passenger in the Chevy pulled out a gun and fired at the Mustang.Wilks accelerated out of the scene, the bullet missing both the driver and car, but eventually the crazed Chevy caught up and began firing once again. Using skills learnt during a previous stint as a stunt driver, Wilks managed to get away once again and then dialed 911. He then began chasing the pickup himself in an attempt to get its license plate.
Barreling down the highway at 100 mph, the pickup eventually lost control and crashed into a shed containing a propane tank, which exploded. Nobody was seriously injured and police managed to arrest an 18- and 19-year old after finding a .45-caliber pistol. Sadly, Wilks may now be selling the car that possibly saved his life.
Thanks for the tip, Matt!
[Source: Dallas News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Rboyett 7:08PM (8/22/2007)
This guy is one of our peeps at DFWstangs :)
http://www.dfwstangs.net/forums/showthread.php?p=4543107#post4543107
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Corey L 7:38PM (8/22/2007)
Love the attitude over there:
"stupid non shooting ass mexicans..."
"Too bad el pistoleros didn't get burned just a little during the propane tank explosion"
"is 'stupid bastards' the new code name for spics?"
HiTork 8:37PM (8/23/2007)
Agreed. I love how people turn things into race especially if it happens the other party isn't race. Why not focus on the fact they're criminal scum in the first place rather than race? I wonder had the guys been white would they have been saying, "Damn stupid ass crackers!"
Rob 7:08PM (8/22/2007)
Average day for me... after something like this I usually go lay down some funky fresh rap tracks, then go play jai alai with my posse.
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joe 7:13PM (8/22/2007)
From the article:
"The light turned green, and he pointed a gun straight at me and pulled the trigger," Mr. Wilks said. The shot missed both him and the car.
L O L
.45ACP is probably too much recoil for those punks. They'll probably be more accurate and do more damage with spit balls and a slingshot.
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Larry 7:16PM (8/22/2007)
I bet the gunslingers were repubuffoons and voted for bush!
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Eagle1 11:35AM (8/23/2007)
Are you Larry the democratic math teacher? - the last presidential election was in 2004 - these guys are 18 and 19 now - do the math
SPG 12:44PM (9/01/2007)
Wow, I'd love to know why the people in the Chevy were shooting at this guy. Grudge? Jealous? Theft attempt?
Pretty cool story though. And unless there's some wacky plot twist it sounds like the guys in the Chevy got what they deserved what with smashing into the shed and the explosion.
Plus the owner of the shed will have the best story at any dinner party for probably the rest of their life.
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Greg A. 2:30AM (8/23/2007)
I wonder if the Avalanche was stolen, though. If it was, the perps probably aren't broken up about totalling it.
Also, the news article says part of the house was damaged by fire, so the homeowner probably isn't having a chuckle right now. I hope neither the homeowner nor his or her insurance company sues the 'Stang's driver for allegedly causing the accident by chasing the perps.
SPG 1:50PM (8/23/2007)
I'm thinking probably stolen truck.
Also, truthfully speaking I did not notice the part about the home being damaged until after I posted. Oops, gotta be more careful before I throw things into a blog.
Also if I do hear that the homeowner (or one of criminals from the truck) try to sue the Saleen driver my blood is going to boil.
wilbot 7:37PM (8/22/2007)
Think, if it was a civic si.
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Chris Vitale 7:38PM (8/22/2007)
I wanna know why they shot. Sounds like a page out of The Sopranos or Biggies book.
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Phil 7:38PM (8/22/2007)
The real question here is how Chuck Norris finds time to cruise in his mustang in between fighting grizzlys and impregnating nuns.
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Phil 7:38PM (8/22/2007)
The real question here is how Chuck Norris finds time to cruise in his mustang in between fighting grizzlys and impregnating nuns.
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Phil 7:39PM (8/22/2007)
Ahh, love that triple post feature.
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Frank 7:50PM (8/22/2007)
The guy in the mustang must have thought he was Steve McQueen for chasing them after. But nonetheless, i think it was an attempt to car-jack.
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James Sonne 8:15PM (8/22/2007)
My opinion is that it was probably a gang initiation requirement: shoot a random person on the road. That kind of thing happened not infrequently in my hometown. Kids would drive around at night with their lights off, and the first car that flashed their highbeams at them became the target as part of an initiation into a gang. They probably thought that shooting someone in a Mustang Saleen would get them extra credentials with their gang, as someone with that car must be tougher than any normal person.
And to say that the car, the Mustang, saved this person's life is ridiculous. A learned driver was able to out maneuver an assailant due to his own skill. Any car can be driven at speed, and most can accelerate faster than an SUV, and maneuver better. Even if not, a skilled driver can use any car's advantages.
I would like to request Autoblog do a follow-up on this article discussing the ultimately determined reason for the incident.
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paul34 8:46PM (8/22/2007)
Please stop spreading false myths.
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/lightsout.asp
James Sonne 8:52PM (8/22/2007)
So because some website tells you that that story is false some how means that no gang has ever used this as initiation, or that some poor teenager didn't decide to do it because he heard it might be a way to get into a gang? Don't be ridiculous. There are lots of crazy people out there that do crazy things because they've heard of it somewhere. Why do you think things like Columbine-like school shootings occured, etc?
Arthur 11:25PM (8/22/2007)
Where the heck did you grow up man?!