let me start off by stating that i in no way endorse the behaviour of what happened in this specific case involving alleged street racing. it was a very tragic case, and no one has the right to put other people’s lives in jeopardy without facing the consequences of their actions. but it just goes to show how twisted and sensationalized news outlets can spin stories, ESPECIALLY ones involving street racing.
i’m sure everyone read about/heard about the two men who were racing up yonge street and killed the couple who were on their way home from a wedding anniversary. right off the bat, this came on the heels of the street racing fatality involving the taxi driver on mount pleasant avenue. so of course, every news media source jumped on the bandwagon and started to sensationalize this story, referring to “shocking” statistics, victim impact statements, testimonials from media whore cops, random public opinions, and so on.
street racing was seen as an epidemic and those “souped up vehicles” were seen as murderous weapons similar to a loaded gun. the two street racers were the latest cold-blooded murderers whose actions were completely to blame for the tragic loss of the couple’s lives. The couple’s actions however were never questioned nor scrutinized by the media, because it was all focused on the two men charged.
fast-forward to today where it was discovered that mr. manchester, the driver of the vehicle that was struck by the street racers, had a blood alcohol level TWICE that of the legal limit. did anyone ever question whether this may have been a contributing cause, if not primary cause of the crash itself? NO. it also seems oddly convenient that this key information was only recently released and reported after the fallout of blame fell on the street racers.
mind you, i’m no expert on collision investigations, but it seems to me that the presumption of guilt should not automatically be blamed on the side of the street racer, a modified car, or any other generalized stereotype the media is feeding to the public when cases like this illustrate the dangerous implications of “buying into” media hype when you don’t even know the whole story or all the contributing factors involved.
the media tries to make street racing related incidences clear cut, but if anything has been shown from this case, it’s that the facts can be skewed and misconstrued to reflect a certain viewpoint, and then quickly retracted and changed by the media when “new” information is presented.
