Hello,

This is probably the best accident reconstruction summary I've read on this. I regularly follow the MO Highway Patrol online crash reports and the IA ones--they're two of the very few states that do publish online reports. I've tried to locate others, but they're usually only available officially.

A young driver on an intermediate permit should not have been allowed to carry three other passengers, all of whom are under 21. I assume Filben was a "licensed driver"--with all of three years' driving experience.

I don't doubt for a moment they were fooling around, playing loud music, wrestling, taunting the driver. It wouldn't surprise me if "Go for it!" wasn't one of the last things said in the car.

And four people in a pickup truck? Were some in the back?

It is my opinion that teenagers pay only lip service to the idea of driving safely. To be a teen is to risk your life and survive to tell the tale. If somehow these teens had performed that much-viewed feat seen on Ellen Degeneres and YouTube, where an SUV "threads the needle" between two cars at an intersection at highway speed.

THAT was the idea, perhaps. Think of four people, and the amazing reputation of the driver--if he had pulled it off!

No, the idea is not to be safe. That's not cool. The idea is to be UNsafe and live.

VCD

At the bottom of this page it says "Please be resptectful of the author and other usuers..." Apparently the respect angle doesn't apply to author, Mr. Lombardi, or should I call him Mr. "bada-bing, bada-boom"? Two people died. Show a little class.

Now there have been three fatalities-this is such a tragedy.

Mr. Lombardi, I thank you for the information that you post-I use it in my work and also to educate my children. I had no clue how to help them understand the importance of driving responsibly. Your postings have made a difference.

I came across this site after googeling the accident. My son was in that truck and all I have to say to this "post" is I'm disguisted! The remarks on here make my stomach turn.Less then half of what has been written is accurate and hopefully you will all learn this when the final report comes out.
"Judge not lest ye be judged"
Food for thought.

Stacey, do you mean half of what is written here, or half of what is written in the Iowa Traffic Patrol report?

It is claimed in some website comments that the "brake pedal went all the way to the floor," i.e., the driver did not fail to stop, but was the victim of equipment failure. Is that what you mean?

Mr Lombardi

I find your comments to be in very bad tast. You were not there and do not know what happened. May Grandson was one of the kids in that truck. You have no idea what the boys were or were not doing and you have no right saying the things you did about any of them. Not all kids mess around while driving. You are a man of poor judgement and should mind your own business, and stay out of other people's lives.

I will add, I am Spencer's mother and I have spoken to Mr. Lombardi in private. My comments were indeed directed at VC. The only correction I have to make is, Spencer was not the driver, but rather a backseat passenger in the truck. I explained to Mr.Lombardi that I was not presuming to say his comments were in any way "wrong." His article was in all actuality, objective. As a mother coming onto a site like this and reading comments like those from VC was hurtful in an already difficult, painful situation for all those involved. Penny is right in her statement that not all teens mess around while driving. I cannot explain what Andrew was doing at the time nor can I say whether or not there was a brake failure issue(as I have heard.)I do have
copies of the accident report and feel comments such as those are in very poor taste. Every person involved that day, including family members of those involved, are changed forever. Nothing can change what has happened and we can
only hope to learn and reach out to teach others.If I understand the point of this site, it is just that, a learning tool. Learning is much more successful when you keep negativity at bay. I feel if someone has enough energy to post such hateful, assumptions, their energy might be better spent educating and offering help rather then judging when they are not completely aware of all the facts. Until you can say you were in that truck, you do not know the whole story. I respected Mr. Lombardi's statements in his first post. He questioned but did not assume what caused the failure to stop. He made a statement saying "We'll just have to wait and see." And that's all we can do, wait and see before we jump to conclusions. I will be putting my energy and experiences to use to educate young teens on driving safety. I am looking into what I can do to help promote the issue of raising the driving age to eighteen and I will continue to pray every day for those who lose loved ones in senseless accidents such as these. I also, will leave it at that.

Stacey, I'm sorry you feel that way. What, exactly, did you find in my statement that was needlessly hurtful? You yourself call it a "senseless" accident. What was senseless about it?

In my city we recently had an accident in which a driver with a BAC over twice the legal limit drove the wrong way on a street and killed four people. And the driver was a police officer!

There were some commenting who insisted that the other driver, who was making a legal right turn, surely had to be drinking--because he was out after midnight! And that the driver who was making a completely legal turn bore some responsibility in the accident--for not seeing the wrong-way driver in time.

And those commenters, too, claimed, "we don't know all the facts, let's not assign blame [to the drunk driving the wrong way on the road], she's suffering enough, people are being cruel, there could be other factors involved." As if any other factor could mitigate driving drunk in the opposite lane.

There was someone on a local comment board claiming the brakes failed. Have you heard that from anyone involved? If I recall correctly, the words were "and the brake pedal went completely to the floor." This person claimed to KNOW that it happened that way because she KNEW the people involved. If that's the case, surely you would have heard that too.

Well,I will start off with your statement of "I don't doubt for a moment they were fooling around, playing loud music, wrestling, taunting the driver. It wouldn't surprise me if "Go for it!" wasn't one of the last things said in the car."
It is a purely speculative remark. It implies these boys were intentionally fooling around, being careless and have a lack of regard for human life. You were not in the truck, nor were you at the accident site. You have no way of knowing what was going on. For all you know, they were not "taunting" the driver and were talking among themselves about the upcoming summer break and who would be working where. Not all teen drivers are reckless and irresponsible when riding as a passenger in a vehicle. Some teens have a very good understanding of what distraction to the driver can do. And your comment about the last thing yelled was in absolute bad taste. To those reading it implies they did this on purpose and were looking at the entire thing as a joke. That in itself was disturbing to me. That one statement alone went above and beyond everything else you said.
Next we will move onto your statement of "If somehow these teens had performed that much-viewed feat seen on Ellen Degeneres and You Tube, where an SUV "threads the needle" between two cars at an intersection at highway speed."
"THAT was the idea, perhaps. Think of four people, and the amazing reputation of the driver--if he had pulled it off!"
Well, I have never heard of nor have I seen this "video" of which you're talking. I'm assuming it did not have a good outcome. My problem with this reference is it implies you are categorizing these boys in with a group of teens who CHOSE to do something fool hearted. It says to those reading, that the driver knew full well what he was doing and chose to risk not only his life but the life of his passengers and others by not stopping. Do you know that to be a fact? No, once again you weren't there. You cannot go around making assumptions of which you know nothing about. I understand everyone will and does have their own opinions about what happened. That's fine. But to PUBLICLY make hurtful, inaccurate statements, in my opinion is wrong.
You have no idea who's reading these blogs. You have no idea who might take your word to be more then an opinion and start repeating "facts". Now you have 'a group of boys who were fooling around and trying dangerous stunts'.I myself write my own blogs....A LOT. I make sure to clarify that these are my opinions and if repeating things I first verify my facts.
Your last statement "No, the idea is not to be safe. That's not cool. The idea is to be UNsafe and live." was an outright rude remark. Again implying you know these kids and you know what happened. I don't know why it would be so hard to understand why I am offended and upset. All you need to do is read your statements.
As far as your most recent post about the drunk driver, all I can say is I have not nor would I ever make a comment saying it is the victims fault this happened "for not paying attention." I believe I made it clear that it was a horrible, senseless tragedy. What makes it senseless you asked? Well for starters, innocent people lost their lives because someone failed to follow minimal driving directions. Period. I have not in any of my posts, defended Andrew's actions. All I said was, it is not fair to judge all those in the vehicle acting like you know what happened. Have I heard their was brake failure...yes. From the father of Andrew who heard it from the state trooper. I made it clear that it was only heard and not verified. I did not claim to "know for sure" that was the case. If you re read my post you will see that is how I stated it.
How would you feel if Travis's family ran across this site and read what you wrote? How would you explain your comments if asked by his parents if you were blaming their son for his own death?
You acting as if these boys brought it upon themselves is just as ridiculous as those who were blaming the victim in the case you referenced for "not seeing the wrong-way driver in time." They were passengers and lest I remind you, also victims.

"Well for starters, innocent people lost their lives because someone failed to follow minimal driving directions."

You seem to be assigning blame yourself. WHO failed to follow minimal driving directions, and why did that failure occur? Whether the teens were talking about spring break, sports, or another topic is not relevant.

WHO failed to follow minimal driving directions and WHY is how legal liability is determined. If it wasn't brake failure, then someone's driving is at fault. You say as much yourself--will that affect the outcome of the case?

The video on Ellen Degeneres (also on YouTube) shows one car illegally entering an intersection at high speed, passing between two cars approaching from either side, and "threading the needle"--by miraculous chance all three vehicles avoid hitting each other. It's probably been viewed half a million times. (If I had the direct link, I'd post it.)

A TV newsmagazine put cameras in teen drivers' cars. The results shocked their parents. "I never taught him to drive that way." The camera clearly shows teen boys egging the driver on to speed, careen across the road, jump hills, and generally drive recklessly. Laughter, cheering, encouragement. Again, the parents were shocked and dismayed that their kids drove with complete disregard for their own safety--and that of their passengers.

I've observed teens in cars at stoplights, on secondary roads, and on the interstate. I've observed overcrowding, horsing around, texting, cell phones glued to ears, no seat belts, too-loud music, and reckless disregard. I don't think I'm off base in suggesting that something got out of hand in that pickup truck. Teens can be good kids and still be reckless drivers--for reasons that make sense to no one but themselves and their social cohort. The statistics speak for themselves.

This is also only one person's opinion on one web board. There are probably hundreds of opinions out there. You cannot prevent people from having opinions nor try to control opinions you don't like or disagree with. Anyone can also post in forums that "the brake pedal went all the way to the floor, it totally wasn't his fault" and that could be misinformation. It cuts both ways. None of these opinions will legally figure in any court case, so the chance of a web board posting leading to a wrongful conviction is slim to none.

I'd also ask you to please think of the Langstaffs, who did NOTHING wrong and died horribly. Andrew Brock will live.

To clarify my point and keep this from getting any farther off point then I feel it has, I read a response to a post that I felt was a gross assumption of someone who was not there.I responded to that and that alone. You are absolutely correct that you are only one persons opinion and I'm sorry if you feel I'm trying to "control those opinions." I am not. Outside of my very first post, I have only been responding to the questions you have asked of me. As you yourself stated, we all have and are allowed to our opinions and I took the time to respond to your questions in an honest and direct manner. I could have stopped at the first post and disregarded your questions. Instead I chose to answer them and am now being told I want to "control others opinions." That's not very fair.
And you are correct. I am assigning blame. I have made it very clear that Mr. Brock failed to stop. Period. There is no other way to look at this. The facts are the facts. Also, I noted that I had only "heard" of a possible brake issue and did not report it to be fact because it was not confirmed by the appropriate authorities.
You said whether they were talking about spring break, sports or another topic is not revelant. I disagree. It is just as relevant as your comments of what you thought must be going on in the truck prior to the accident.Once again, it goes back to why I responded to the post in the first place. There are alternative ways to look at every situation aside from the "jump to conclusions" I felt this was.
Being a parent of teens, I am (sadly)well aware of all the statistics involving teen drivers today. I was not aware of the video you referenced, but I will make it a point to "keep in my radar" as Mr. Lombardi stated.
To answer Mr. Lombardi's statements,I do realize we all have our own perspective of VC's statements. Perspective is a very individual thing. You're right in saying it's easy to get caught up in what words were used or if a different version would be nicer to read. Especially when personally involved. We are all humans and respond to things differently. I took his statementsin a different light.
As I have learned through browsing this site, there is a lot to learn here. I have found myself drawn to many different posts in the last week or so. To my knowledge, learning is about looking at things from as many diferent angles as possible. Getting all of our facts and then making a deduction from there. I am offering up an alternative viewpoint to VC's. He may be stating facts about things that commonly take place among teen drivers, and I have not disputed any of them. I am and have been simply stating that there are other alternatives to "jumping to the statistics conclusion" (my perspective) And as I stated earlier, all of my posts after the first one were only in response to questions posed of me.
As far as the truck seating situation, it was a full size chevy extended cab. Made to seat four
(but I believe it is equipped with five seat belts, I will check on that.) Their were four individuals in there. Two in the front seat and two in the back seat. According to the trooper I spoke to and EMT workers, they were all buckeled in. There was nobody in the bed of the truck.
As far as what they have to say about what happened,I want to know that as well. I can only speak for myself and my son when I say we did give our statement to the trooper and we have spoken to a counselor. Contrary to what may be believed, my son is adament in remembering. He has been told several times he may not, but he's made up his mind to do just that. He has had me drive him out to the accident site, out to see the truck and he even had me take the path they would have taken to get to lake Belvedere, to see if it would jog more memory. We have had more conversations regarding the Langstaffs in our home then we have about any one other one single thing the accident brought about.The victims families absolutely deserve answers to that question. And I have NOT ONCE in my posts forgotten them.
As you stated Mr. Lombardi, a robust debate is usually a good thing. Whether individuals choose to agree or disagree is irrelevant in the end. We can chat for weeks about how "we feel and what our opinions are" and it doesn't change the fact that three lives were lost. Three families forever changed (as I have stated before) and less answers then what's needed right now. The positive light of a debate(kept respectable) is that it keeps the topic open and alive. It keeps people thinking about it. And when people think about topics such as this, awareness is created.
I hope I have clarified my viewpoint enough so that it is understood and not misconstrued. We ALL have opinions of what people say, how they say it etc. And we ALL are entitled. As long as we put that energy to good use educating as well as "debating." I WILL leave it there.

Another "accident" in Washington County, where and I state from the local paper "Accordinging to reports from the Washington County Sheriff's Office, at about 11:13 a.m. Thrsday, a green 2004 Saturn driven by Zachary Ryan Bonebrake of Keota was westbound on 190th Street east of Ginkgo. According to report, the vehicle didn't stop at a stop sign at the intersection of Ginkgo and 190th and stuck a gray 2000 Chevy S-10 driven by Russell Albert Yoder of Richland in the intersection." Is this another possible case of "threading the eye of the needle." From the talk here in Washington, Iowa, by the High School age drivers, yes.

Mr. Lombardi. Do you follow the cases into court? If so do you know of any plea, as of yet? If not, do you know how I can follow the case? Also, I recently hear there was a 3rd case of a stop sign being run in Washington County. Boy, scares the hell out of me to be on the roads down in...