DALLAS - Dallas police said street racing was to blame for a deadly crash involving a 16-year-old Dallas teen Tuesday night.
Colin Taylor Stone was speeding well over 100 miles an hour when police said he lost control, crossed the median and slammed into four vehicles, according to police.
Police believe Stone may have been racing with another vehicle for more than a mile while driving westbound on Northwest Highway, starting at the intersection of Abrams Road. The crash occurred near the intersection of Northwest Highway and Shady Brook.
Stone's BMW burst into flames, killing the Highland Park teen instantly. He had attended school at Cistercian Prep in Irving.
The driver Stone was racing is also believed to be a teen in an older-model, dark BMW. Sources tell News 8 the drivers knew each other from competing as swimmers at the Knights of Columbus pool, also on Northwest Highway. The teens were apparently in a swimming club and took their competition on to the road.
The other racer is still at large. Street racing that causes a death is a second degree felony. Police are using stoplight footage to track down the other driver.
Two other people in the crash had to be rushed to the hospital. Both are expected to be okay.
"[Stone] brushed up against a pickup truck going the opposite direction, and then he spun off that vehicle and rotated into an early-model Volvo," said Sgt. Fred Katani of the Dallas police. "And when you look at the pictures of the vehicle, it's a miracle that no one was seriously injured in that Volvo."
That Volvo carried three passengers, but none were hospitalized.
Algae Vazquez, who has worked for the last six years at a restaurant along that stretch of Northwest Highway, said street racing is a problem in that area. She said, typically, it is on weekends, not weeknights.
She said she avoids Northwest Highway on weekends altogether because that is when cars and motorcycles street race and the drivers are usually younger ones.
Vazquez would like to see more policing in the area to make it safer. She's not alone.
Dallas police said they are still talking to witnesses and reviewing 911 tapes, hoping to learn more about what happened leading up to last night's crash.
Police said, even if street racing played a role, right now, they do not have a description of the other vehicle involved.
E-mail cvega@wfaa.com
