Throw the book at him!
Street racing, especially in busy urban or suburban areas, is not only stupid, it’s recklessly selfish. According to the Albuquerque Police Department, a man named Mario Perez was doing just that in his Ford Mustang when he slammed into the side of a school bus full of middle schoolers. Video inside the bus, which was just recently released, shows the children flying into the air as the bus tipped onto its side from the violent impact.
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Two of 23 children onboard were severely injured by the crash, like a kid who can be heard crying in the video that his femur is broken. As parents, this makes our blood absolutely boil. We love cars, racing can be fun, but we hate street racers and this is why. Perez is lucky he didn’t kill any of the children, but he put kids in the hospital. Sadly, we’ve seen incidents where kids did die in street racing crashes. As enthusiasts, we should all condemn this behavior.
Morons like Perez put this hobby in grave danger. If we continue to let media outlets believe this is why people buy Mustangs or other performance cars, the results could be devastating. Speaking out about the dangers of street racing should be a minimum for anyone who doesn’t want to deal with a crackdown that might go too far. People understandably are emotional about this crash, so voices of reason are definitely needed.
In police bodycam footage, a witnesses said Perez was racing another Mustang right before the crash. Investigators believe Perez was going over 110 mph before hit the bus and about 65-80 mph on impact. Why he thought going through city streets at that speed was a good idea is beyond us. Or maybe he wasn’t thinking at all.
While Perez was hospitalized and then later arrested, he was released just a few days later. Police are still looking for the other driver who was racing him. We hope both face consequences for their actions.
Check out the video for yourself, but we warn you it’s disturbing.
