A Johnson City man was racing on State of Franklin Road early Tuesday morning when his car rear-ended another vehicle, leading to his arrest on charges including reckless endangerment, police said in a news release.
Danny A. Hernandez, 19, 2705 McKinley Road, was arrested after the crash at West State of Franklin and Harris Drive about 12:30 a.m.
Hernandez was racing another vehicle on State of Franklin at high speed when he struck the other vehicle traveling in the same direction, police said.
According to a police report, Hernandez hit Bretten F. Murray, 19, who was pulling onto State of Franklin from the campus of East Tennessee State University.
Hernandez’ vehicle skidded more than 148 feet before crashing into the rear of Murray’s vehicle.
Police wrote in the report that Hernandez said he and the other driver were “just having a little fun.”
Police found a small bag of what smelled and looked like marijuana and a glass pipe that was in a sock in Hernandez’ pants.
Murray was taken to Johnson City Medical Center. His condition was not available.
Charged with reckless endangerment with a motor vehicle, simple possession/casual exchange of drugs and possession of unlawful drug paraphernalia, Hernandez was jailed in the Washington County Detention Center on $12,000 bond pending a Sessions Court appearance Wednesday.
Johnson City Police Chief Mark Sirois said investigators were working to identify the other driver in the race.
Whitey writes:
November 20, 2012
9:15 PM
He's not an idiot, he's just a 19 year old kid. We were all kids once and most of us did things like this. He'll pay his fine and he looks smart enough to learn a lesson. Give him a break.
tenngirl1 writes:
November 21, 2012
7:20 AM
@Whitey, your attitude is one of the things wrong with todays youth. He endangered other peoples lives and you want to give him a smack on the hand. What if that had been you he ran into and you were injured? What if it had been you and you had someone you loved in the car with you and they had been killed. Would you still feel the same? If you're old enough to drive a car then you need to be responsible.
love-it writes:
November 21, 2012
8:20 AM
Stupidity is no excuse!!!! young and dumb just will not do......he wanted to run with the BIG dog then now he should be given the max of jail time... he made a choice to endanger the lives as he so did by getting HIGH and racing
Remove Money from Politics writes:
November 22, 2012
7:25 PM
I was young and dumb like this once. I would never do it again. I think all youth go through reckless phases at one point, whether it's a guy racing because the thrill is more important than others' safety or the girl texting behind the wheel because the social status is more important than others' safety. This is not to say that it was acceptable, just that it's a reality that it will still happen in some amount no matter what we do about it. Make sure any young drivers in your life know the importance of safety. This could have easily ended in two people needlessly losing their lives over a stupid race.
The important thing here is that no one got seriously injured (from what I can tell), and based on the charges it looks like the guy did at least have insurance.
sister fatima writes:
November 25, 2012
11:35 AM
I would just like to say that things like this occur because of (not young stupidity) but because it is tolerated. When a 19-year-old blows somebody's head off or beats his girlfriend to death do we say "awe, he's just young and stupid" ? No, I should hope not. People will do whatever they think will get them the most pleasure for the least amount of pain. If we would make this behavior tabboo, as we have the crime of murder, this would not happen.
provided.