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Deadly Driving - Video Games are blamed ... ???
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| E2EK1EL |
The cab was a twisted wreck, tangled around a pole. Smoke rose into the night air as rescue crews looked on helplessly. There was, in the end, nothing left to save.
There was a terrible irony at the scene of a deadly accident near Mt. Pleasant and St. Clair Ave. Tuesday night – it looked like a graphic scene from a video game.
And police fear that may have been the inspiration for the crash that killed a 46-year-old Toronto cab driver.
It happened around 10:30pm when two 18-year-olds were allegedly driving their parents’ Mercedes Benz cars at a high rate of speed up Mt. Pleasant.
As taxi driver Tahir Khan tried to make a left hand turn, one of the luxury automobiles appeared from out of nowhere, smashing directly into him.
“When he made that turn, two motor vehicles at a very high rate of speed were northbound,” relates Det. Paul Lobsinger. “He crossed directly into the path of those vehicles and one of these vehicles struck him.”
He died at the scene.
The car that hit the cab sat nearby badly damaged, but at first there was no sign of the other vehicle. The driver left the scene only to return minutes later. By then, police were waiting.
Investigators quickly determined the cause of the crash – excessive speed, likely because the two expensive cars were racing against each other.
And inside of one of them, an apparent motive – the video game Need For Speed, which allows users to race through a city avoiding obstacles and police.
Speeds in the game reach 300 kilometres an hour. Cops theorize the accused were trying to turn the fantasy into reality, with tragic results.
On Wednesday night, friends of the deceased made a difficult call back to his homeland to inform his family of the bad news.
“My friend just called Pakistan and notified the family and are in process of making arrangements to ship the body to Pakistan,” said Rashid Quazi
Authorities contend street racing is becoming all too common a problem in the G.T.A. and they vow to clamp down on it in any way possible.
To prove it, they’ve laid the heaviest charges they could against the drivers.
Alexander Ryazanov and Wang−Piao Dumani Ross have both been accused of criminal negligence causing death. Ross also faces additional charges for leaving the scene of the crash.
Their families were at College Park courts on Wednesday morning, when both made their first appearance before a judge. They remain in custody pending bail hearings.
If convicted, the maximum penalty could be life in prison.
http://www.pulse24.com/News/Top_Sto...25-002/page.asp
Do you think it's possible that this happen b/c of Need for Speed (game) ? |
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| Trance Nutter |
| Youth galavanting around in cars has happened long before computer games ever existed. |
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| Moral Hazard |
| I totally believe that video games cause people to do things they wouldn't normally. Hell, just last weekend I was playing Grand Theft Auto and got an unbelievable urge to live out the game so I stole my neighbours car, killed a crackwhore, started a shootout with the cops..... thankfully I still had 4 lives left so once they took away my guns I was fine and went back home. The next day I played Sonic the Hedgehog..... ever since then I've been doing summersaults all over the place. |
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| Tordan |
| It is possible unfortunately. I don't play racing games often but when I do it pumps me up pretty good. I've noticed myself take a few unnecessary risks a day or two after playing. Speeding, weaving in and out of lanes is more exhilarating than usual. It's still in your subconscious and takes a while to forget. But of course, if you consciously make the decision to race then that's your fault. The game might have initiated the thought but it's up to you to act on it. |
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| Floorwhore |
| So stupid. It's common sense, YOU DONT RACE IN REAL LIFE ON CITY STREETS!!! Duh. This reminds me a lot of the murder case years ago, where 2pac's music was to blame for a murder, because it was in the tape deck of the accused. Music, video games, movies, television, DO NOT KILL. It's the people with twisted minds who dont know the difference between fantasy and reality. |
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| Halycon |
| theres no reason anyone needs to be going 140 km/h on Mount Plesant on a wednsday afternoon. |
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| crazedcanuck |
| quote: | Originally posted by Floorwhore
So stupid. It's common sense, YOU DONT RACE IN REAL LIFE ON CITY STREETS!!! Duh. This reminds me a lot of the murder case years ago, where 2pac's music was to blame for a murder, because it was in the tape deck of the accused. Music, video games, movies, television, DO NOT KILL. It's the people with twisted minds who dont know the difference between fantasy and reality. |
But Jeff, there was no fantasy here, just solid reality.
I have a theory. Two young, unskilled immature drivers who are racing fans were driving too fast and crashed into a taxi, killing the driver.
They happened to be in posession of a racing game, since racing is a hobby of theirs.
Fin |
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| Orko |
| quote: | Originally posted by crazedcanuck
But Jeff, there was no fantasy here, just solid reality.
I have a theory. Two young, unskilled immature drivers who are racing fans were driving too fast and crashed into a taxi, killing the driver.
They happened to be in posession of a racing game, since racing is a hobby of theirs.
Fin |
I am a huge racing game fan, and have played every single Need For Speed (NFS) since they came out. I would be/am scared less to do anything I do in the game, on real roads. The physics are imperfect, the crash modeling is bogus, I know this. If I smack into a wall at anywhere over 40km/h I am going to be seriously hurt.
I love racing, and I do it on the track. I go gokarting.
Seeing the difference between racing games and real life has only strengenthed my belief that you cannot do things in real life like you can in games.
Street racing was big long before racing games. 70's muscle cars anybody? The only difference between now and then, is so many cars on the road today have 200+bhp, which means the average driver now has more power than they are trained for. |
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| Skipper |
Blaming the video game shifts the accountability from the drivers to the game. Not a good way to teach teenagers that they need to take responsibility for their actions.
Street racing, as others have said, is not a product of today's video games. |
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| Moral Hazard |
| quote: | Originally posted by Halycon
theres no reason anyone needs to be going 140 km/h on Mount Plesant on a wednsday afternoon. |
WHAT? Of course there is! You're not going to win a race doing 60! |
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| infinity HiGH |
hahah, first it was first person shooters labelled as "murder simulators" because they influenced kids to shoot people; now racing games are blamed for irresponsible driving?
:haha: :haha: :haha:
yea ok |
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| MarkT |
I hope the courts send out a message...toss both these kids in jail for a couple of years, at least...suspend their license for another 5...and put them on *permanent* driving probation (another major speeding or racing infraction, permanently revoke it).
someone should also slap the out of their parents. there's no reason kids should be driving powerful luxery cars at that age.
buy them a ing corolla for their first car until they've shown they're mature enough to drive something else. |
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