Blackened300a
07-25-2007, 11:11 AM
Article from Todays NY Daily News....
Speed demon denial
Nitrous gas tank wasn't hooked up, sez drag racer in deadly S.I. wreck
BY JOE GOULD, DORIAN BLOCK and JONATHAN LEMIRE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Wednesday, July 25th 2007, 9:34 AM <HR class=access>
Rocket ride
Q: What is nitrous oxide?
A: "It's a gas that gets pumped into the engine, allowing it to work faster," said Joe Monderine, an auto mechanic at Joe's Transmissions in Brooklyn. "It adds more horsepower to an engine and does so cheaply."
Q: How does it work in a car?
A: "You just push a button and gas from a canister in the backseat or the trunk funnels into the engine," Monderine said. "It's a powerful trigger."
Q: Is it legal?
A: No. "But there are guys on the street who would do it," Monderine said. "I've heard of garages who would hook up the system for just $1,000."
Q: How much faster can it make a vehicle go?
A: It depends on the car. But you "can probably shave two or three seconds off the time it would take a car to go a quarter-mile," Monderine said. "The Mustang could probably go 120 or 130 mph, easy."
Q: Is it dangerous?
A: "It's pressurized gas, so there's always chance of an explosion," Monderine said. "If it's overpressurized or overheated, it could blow up an engine or - if it's near the gas tank - maybe the entire car." Jonathan Lemire
<!-- ARTICLE CONTENT START -->The driver of a souped-up Mustang involved in a horrific wreck that killed a 17-year-old Staten Island girl claimed yesterday he didn't give his car an illegal boost using nitrous oxide gas.
Cops found a tank of the speed-enhancing gas in the trunk of 18-year-old Anthony Reis'. crashed sports car after the Monday night accident that killed Michelle Arout and injured six others.
Reis' car was going at least 90 mph at the time of the crash, police said.
But Reis - a frequent drag racer with a history of driving violations - denied using the illegal gas to race his friend's car in the moments before the crash. The tank "wasn't connected," Reis said, as he gazed at a growing roadside memorial to Arout, who died minutes after the 9 p.m. crash. "That's all I have to say."
Investigators believe Reis was racing his gray 1994 Ford Mustang GT against a black 2003 Honda Accord driven by his friend, 17-year-old Joe Donovan.
The pair was speeding along a quiet stretch of Veterans Road West, a popular spot for drag racing, when the Honda roared ahead of the Mustang before hydroplaning on the slick road.
The Honda, which belonged to Donovan's father, crossed into the path of the Mustang. The cars collided, flipping the Mustang and sending the Honda into a fire hydrant, splitting the car in two. The violent impact threw the backseat passengers - Arout and her 16-year-old boyfriend, Thomas Barclay - from the vehicle.
"It was horrendous," said witness Valerie Donnelly. "The cars were a mess. There was blood all over; there was clothing all over."
A truck driver staying at a nearby hotel found Arout in the woods and carried her to the street. Paramedics rushed the teen, a senior at Tottenville High School and the sister of an NYPD sergeant, to Staten Island University Hospital South. But she could not be saved.
Barclay was in critical condition at Staten Island University Hospital North. He regained consciousness yesterday and asked for Arout - but his mother didn't have the heart to tell him his girlfriend was dead.
"He doesn't know yet," said Patty Barclay, 42. "I'm trying to calm him down. [But] he keeps asking about his friends."
The other five teens in the cars - all students at Tottenville High - were released from area hospitals yesterday.
In the past 18 months, Reis had been cited for driving without a license, disobeying a traffic device, dangerous driving and improper passing. His license had been suspended but was in good standing at the time of Monday's wreck, according to a law enforcement source.
No charges were filed against him or the other driver involved in the fatal crash.
Arout's friends remembered her as a free spirit who planned to attend the Learning Institute For Beauty Sciences in Brooklyn to become a beautician.
"I'm mostly angry because she wasn't supposed to go like this, not at the age of 17," said Vita Balsamo, 17.
Speed demon denial
Nitrous gas tank wasn't hooked up, sez drag racer in deadly S.I. wreck
BY JOE GOULD, DORIAN BLOCK and JONATHAN LEMIRE
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Wednesday, July 25th 2007, 9:34 AM <HR class=access>
Rocket ride
Q: What is nitrous oxide?
A: "It's a gas that gets pumped into the engine, allowing it to work faster," said Joe Monderine, an auto mechanic at Joe's Transmissions in Brooklyn. "It adds more horsepower to an engine and does so cheaply."
Q: How does it work in a car?
A: "You just push a button and gas from a canister in the backseat or the trunk funnels into the engine," Monderine said. "It's a powerful trigger."
Q: Is it legal?
A: No. "But there are guys on the street who would do it," Monderine said. "I've heard of garages who would hook up the system for just $1,000."
Q: How much faster can it make a vehicle go?
A: It depends on the car. But you "can probably shave two or three seconds off the time it would take a car to go a quarter-mile," Monderine said. "The Mustang could probably go 120 or 130 mph, easy."
Q: Is it dangerous?
A: "It's pressurized gas, so there's always chance of an explosion," Monderine said. "If it's overpressurized or overheated, it could blow up an engine or - if it's near the gas tank - maybe the entire car." Jonathan Lemire
<!-- ARTICLE CONTENT START -->The driver of a souped-up Mustang involved in a horrific wreck that killed a 17-year-old Staten Island girl claimed yesterday he didn't give his car an illegal boost using nitrous oxide gas.
Cops found a tank of the speed-enhancing gas in the trunk of 18-year-old Anthony Reis'. crashed sports car after the Monday night accident that killed Michelle Arout and injured six others.
Reis' car was going at least 90 mph at the time of the crash, police said.
But Reis - a frequent drag racer with a history of driving violations - denied using the illegal gas to race his friend's car in the moments before the crash. The tank "wasn't connected," Reis said, as he gazed at a growing roadside memorial to Arout, who died minutes after the 9 p.m. crash. "That's all I have to say."
Investigators believe Reis was racing his gray 1994 Ford Mustang GT against a black 2003 Honda Accord driven by his friend, 17-year-old Joe Donovan.
The pair was speeding along a quiet stretch of Veterans Road West, a popular spot for drag racing, when the Honda roared ahead of the Mustang before hydroplaning on the slick road.
The Honda, which belonged to Donovan's father, crossed into the path of the Mustang. The cars collided, flipping the Mustang and sending the Honda into a fire hydrant, splitting the car in two. The violent impact threw the backseat passengers - Arout and her 16-year-old boyfriend, Thomas Barclay - from the vehicle.
"It was horrendous," said witness Valerie Donnelly. "The cars were a mess. There was blood all over; there was clothing all over."
A truck driver staying at a nearby hotel found Arout in the woods and carried her to the street. Paramedics rushed the teen, a senior at Tottenville High School and the sister of an NYPD sergeant, to Staten Island University Hospital South. But she could not be saved.
Barclay was in critical condition at Staten Island University Hospital North. He regained consciousness yesterday and asked for Arout - but his mother didn't have the heart to tell him his girlfriend was dead.
"He doesn't know yet," said Patty Barclay, 42. "I'm trying to calm him down. [But] he keeps asking about his friends."
The other five teens in the cars - all students at Tottenville High - were released from area hospitals yesterday.
In the past 18 months, Reis had been cited for driving without a license, disobeying a traffic device, dangerous driving and improper passing. His license had been suspended but was in good standing at the time of Monday's wreck, according to a law enforcement source.
No charges were filed against him or the other driver involved in the fatal crash.
Arout's friends remembered her as a free spirit who planned to attend the Learning Institute For Beauty Sciences in Brooklyn to become a beautician.
"I'm mostly angry because she wasn't supposed to go like this, not at the age of 17," said Vita Balsamo, 17.