Thursday, 12 February 2015

Day 43

[from Street Racer]

JADE CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT
INCIDENT REPORT: DATED 12TH FEBRUARY 2015

Another major street-racing incident occurred two days ago in the industrial area of the city. After talking to witnesses and examining CCTV footage from the area, we have put together this approximate timeline of the events that occurred.

At approximately 6:13pm on February 10th 2015, an orange-and-black Nissan 350Z driven by a man believed to be known street racer Jason Diaz parked outside an industrial unit in the Bronson Flats industrial complex. He left his car and began making phone calls, and at 6:15pm, while he was still on the phone, a red-and-white Audi TT, driven by an unidentified white male in his mid-20s, parked up alongside him. The driver of the TT exited his vehicle, and after a brief conversation with Diaz, the two men both began making phone calls.

Over the next 45 minutes, a number of individuals, some of whom have been identified as known members of the street-racing scene and many of whom were driving heavily-modified imports, gathered at the location of Diaz and the unknown male. These included a female thought to be Diaz' girlfriend, Tara St. Clair, driving a green-and-white Mazda MX-5, a female who has since been identified as 23-year-old Morgan Smith, driving a blue Subaru Impreza, and a known associate of Diaz known only to the JCPD as "Bouncer", driving a yellow-and-black Ford Mustang. Investigations into Bouncer's identity are currently ongoing.

At approximately 7:01pm, those gathered at the site began to prepare for an illegal street race. Witnesses report that the race was to be three laps of a makeshift street circuit through the Bronson Flats complex. At around this time, Diaz and St. Clair were seen arguing, reportedly regarding whether or not St. Clair was to compete in the race. St. Clair was then seen briefly arguing with the driver of the Audi TT, before Diaz led her away and spoke to the man himself. The subject of their discussion is not currently known.

By 7:16pm, Diaz, Bouncer, Smith, and the red-and-white Audi driver had paid their entrance fees and lined up at the start/finish line. St. Clair stood at the roadside holding a chequered flag, alongside an unidentified Asian female using her smartphone as a stopwatch. At precisely 7:18pm, St. Clair waved the chequered flag and the race began.

Early on the first lap, the Audi driver had a minor collision with Diaz and span, leaving him several seconds behind the other racers. By the start of the second lap, Bouncer was in the lead, with Smith and Diaz shortly behind.

At some point during the second lap, as Diaz attempted to pass Smith on a straightaway, the front-left side of Diaz' car clipped the right-rear side of Smith's, causing the latter to lose control and spin at an estimated speed of 120 miles per hour. Smith's car then struck a tree at the side of the road head-on at approximately 100 miles per hour, before bouncing back into the road where it was then struck by the Audi, who had braked and swerved but been unable to avoid it. Smith is thought to have been killed immediately upon the initial impact with the tree, and was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead on arrival. Although the Audi was also damaged significantly by the impact, the driver reportedly escaped with only minor injuries and was able to continue the race.


Once it became apparent to those present that Smith had been killed, the race was swiftly abandoned and most of those gathered had dispersed by the time the emergency services had arrived. It is thought that Diaz and Bouncer kept the prize pool for themselves despite the race's abandonment. Of the witnesses that we spoke to, two believed that Diaz' collision with Smith had been deliberate, and one also believed that his collision with the Audi driver had also been deliberate. This is consistent with several previous reports of races involving Diaz, in which he has resorted to shockingly dangerous tactics when not in the lead. Sadly, with Diaz' current whereabouts unknown, and with little or no evidence to prove that the crash was deliberate, we are unable to obtain a warrant for Diaz' arrest, although he remains wanted in connection with this and numerous other street racing incidents over the past eighteen months.

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