Rock

PLEASE REREAD AND REVISE YOUR POST BECAUSE IT IS JUST PLAIN IGNORANT.

Gondon

It's true though. You can argue it both ways. For Example its illegal to speed that why they are being prosecuted. But its also illegal to not yield right of way. Johnny Cochran can pull this one off.

In other countries this would be dismissed because the guy turned in front of traffic. I understand every argument that can be thrown here. But in the USA someone has to be held accountable for manslaughter. If a kid runs in front of the 18 wheeler. Guess what its the drivers responsibility, just like if you rear end someone its your fault.

But I can imagine based on the width of that road and It's huge that they couldn't even dodge it or swerve left or right, this must have been a split second like the guy just went right in front of them and they couldn't do jack.

That is why Fantasm makes sense in what he says.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg0IDPPo2ow (SAME EXACT SCENARIO)

Fantasm

Listen, I get pulled in front of at least 2-3 times a month by someone who doesn't know what they're doing.
If it wasn't for my always alert posture while driving, I would be in accidents. If it wasn't me that was driving, there would be accidents.

People pull out, then FREAK OUT, and brake or don't do anything while they're thinking about what to do when they see car coming at them, and by then its too late.
OR they pull out and know they're cutting it close, yet don't gun it themselves to make it and I end up having to lock up brakes so I don't hit them - yet it was my right of way at a green light, and they did not have a green arrow (just green light themselves, which means 'yield').

This happens ALL the time, multiple times a month to me in CA. People are just plain stupid, I know this from the business I am in. So I can't even begin to imagine how stupid people are when they're driving and "zone out".

How do you think these people in CA that do their daily 2-hour each way commutes make it? They "zone out".

When you are driving, you need to be at your utmost in alertness at ALL times.
If you are, then you can see problems like THIS ONE (there are some things you just can't plan for no matter what) and avoid them.

This was CLEARLY avoidable on both sides of the accident, but the fault ALSO lies on both sides. Just b/c the guy died DOES NOT SPARE HIM FROM BLAME.

People die from their own stupid mistakes all the time, this is no different.

---

About 6 months ago, I was sitting at a light with no green arrow for a left turn across on-coming traffic. I was behind another car... the guy had a very small window (basically non-existant) and went for it... traffic was going the speed limit, but he ended up being t-boned right in front of me.
What is the excuse there? Was the mass of on-coming cars all street racing as well? No, someone's poor judgment caused a huge multi-car accident right in front of my eyes like 10 feet away from me.
I was almost hit by a Dodge Sprinter as it bounced off the guy he hit...

It happens and this time it happens that they were also having a street drag; but unless you were there watching exactly what happened, you can't tell if it was COINCIDENCE or CAUSE; thus you cannot attempt to find someone guilty of MANSLAUGHTER over it. Either way, its an F'ed up situation and choosing the plea deal was probably the best option for the E63 as we all know they would trump up the sympathy card with the jurors and the "poor old man" routine.

Thericker

If they hadn't been speeding/racing the man would've lived (look @ the pictures again, looks like a war zone, also note how far up the road the E63 is from original head-on original impact, obvious they were haulin the mail so to speak)

Ca vehicle codes/laws go w/what they can prove, (ask me how I know) they easily prove speeding was taking place 1st, they can't nor do they care to prove when said car cut in front of their mayhem. Only part they see is speeding/racing violation which can be argued as you say either way leading to ultimate point of impact.

But the SOLE fact remains speeding/racing led to the ultimate cause of death, hell you act as if it took place at a Train crossingor as if a drunkard tried to walk across the 405 frwy in the middle of the night??

They were racing in a 45 mph zone w/traffic lights??? If they were going the speed limit they would've had time to either STOP or NOT killed the man instantly on impact, ***** there's hardly anything left of the elderly mans car.


We of ALL people know damn well they were flying to triple digits easy...


The elderly man would've prolly suffered injuries but LIVED if they weren't going like bats out of hell. END OF STORY

juicee63

Mr. Holman was on his cell phone , was not wearing a seat belt and turned directly in the path of oncoming traffic.

Yes the cars were speeding,


triple digits were never attained.

The crash happened in the 65-67 mph range and yes Holman was hit by both cars.

Robert hit him first, the car spun and the Mustang ejected Holman which is what killed him. The ejection and impact of the pavement. Had Holman worn a seatbelt, he may also be alive.

Mr. Holman was the lawmaker that helped enact the seat belt laws in Maricopa County, Ironic he was not wearing one. The sheepskin seat covers in his Camaro covered the belt.

This accident has been devastating to all involved.

I was in Arizona , Robert and I were to attend Speedworld the following day. He raced on the track , not in the streets, there was absolutely no need to race on a public roadway. I was recently T boned in a similar fashion in my CLS 63. I was turning left and was hit by a red light runner at over 50 mph, guess who the insurance company found at fault? My car saved me, but surely I would have been decapatated absent a seat belt.

DO NOT STREET RACE,
ALWAYS WEAR A SEAT BELT
STAY OFF YOUR PHONE
NO DRUGS
DO NOT DRIVE IMPAIRED EVER(this includes lack of sleep)


On a side note to the OP

No signed plea agreement has been recorded.

The deadline for signature was 3/24/2010.

http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov...0/m4146359.pdf

Wow this is truly incredible, Justice FAILS!!

http://www.friendsofcalholman.com/fr...ronica.pagedef

So the guy that ejected Holman and flipped his Mustang agrees to incriminate Van Brakel AND WALKS WITH PROBATION??? BULL

bigben320e

I added some, hope you don't mind Josh. My condolences to Holman's family, but no seat-belt? Even at slow speeds death can and has occurred where drivers were not using a seat-belt. True enough though, if the other two drivers were going at slower speeds, the accident would have been less catastrophic.

I got hit like that as well, someone pulled out on me. Elderly guy, not paying attention. Luckily, I had good brakes and was wearing a belt. I was able to slow the car down to about 10-15MPH before impact.

Thericker

Thanks for the pertinent facts Josh, talk about poetic justice seatbelt lawman dies breaking his own law, like the health nut being run over while jay-walking in front of a Beer truck.

I agree total the other speeder is given slap on wrist w/probation? I'm betting the Pot smoking weighed heavily against your friend in courts eyes.

PS I've seen my fair share of wrecks, there are no visible skid marks in these pix, they didn't even see him till the last second. Not being an expert @ examining wreck sites to determine ALL speeds traveled by those involved, But a 500HP saloon went thru his 70's-80's trans-am like it was made of tissue paper, settling multi car lengths ahead.

We've all @ 1 time or another ran someone light to light, the E63 which is very close to E55k can easily hit 100mph+ between stoplights, I highly doubt "crash happened in the 65-67 mph range"

220S

Sorry, but this a completely illogical argument. Obviously you aren't a lawyer. The Ricker is correct, the argument is futile.

Case law will show the difference. Man shoots firearm out of his car down a one-way alley thinking no one will be hurt because no one will be driving down the alley the wrong way. There is no implied malice. Driver of another car drives the wrong way down the one-way alley and is shot and killed. Dead driver illegally drove down the alley. But the man who shot the firearm caused the death of the other driver, not the driver's illegal one-way driving. Knowingly shooting the gun down an alley was reckless behavior. Driving down the alley the wrong way was perhaps not intentional (could be deemed an unwitting act.) But the firing of the weapon was intentional, the gun was fired knowingly, even though there was no malice prepense The burden rests on the individual committing an illegal and reckless act (knowingly shooting a firearm and knowing it could cause bodily harm) despite that was no malice against the other person. Man shooting firearm is prosecuted for manslaughter.

Two guys intentionally race on a public street knowing it's illegal and a reckless act under law and could cause bodily harm, despite having no malice aforethought. Man turns into their right of way unintentionally (yes, stupid, but not by intent) and is killed instantly on impact. The two guys already gave up that right of way by knowingly committing an illegal and reckless act. If it was anything otherwise, it would be known as an accident (unintentional, and yes stupid) with the driver turning into their right of way at fault. He would be ticketed. If one of the two guys were killed, he could be charged for manslaughter and especially if he was intentionally under the influence or the cell phone distracted him (if it's illegal in AZ to use a cell phone while driving.) Otherwise, he could face civil court and be sued by the family of the person killed.

This case will no doubt go to a civil trial for damages against both drivers. A civil trial will no doubt find the drivers negligible and the family of the deceased will be awarded damages. It's pretty easy to win a civil case like this.

juicee63

There are definately skid marks. The prosecution estimated speed slightly above the defense. No reconstructionist estimated triple digits.

The Camaro was split due to being struck 2x.

The investigation , reconstruction pointed to the Mercedes striking first, spinning the car (camaro) into the Mustangs path which directly impacted Holman on the drivers door ejecting him. Robert immediately ran to aid the victim . His life was ruined on this day. He took a mans life, he is riddled with guilt and wishes everyday he would have died instead of Holman. The plea bargain prevents much of this case from coming out. Had the trace amounts of medicinal pot not been found in the blood, Robert likely fights this.

The admitted racer gets probation for his role in this accident and Robert may get 12 years?

juicee63

coercion, duress are certainly at play in Mr. Aronica's sudden admission to "racing"

Did the State of Arizona actually use a timeslip from Mr. Van Brakel's legal attendance of Firebird raceway in his Mercedes to show he is a "racer"?

He took a plea based on a coerced statement from a scared kid, who may of thought he was racing a car with hundreds more hp. Had they been racing how far ahead would you estimate the Mercedes to be after 1000 ft? The facts do not add up to a race, they point to two cars travelling at similar speeds in different lanes. The facts of the case will never come out based on this plea.

Quadcammer

how anyone can defend this guy is beyond me.

He was racing on a public street and killed someone. I don't care about his conscious. Throw the book at him.

K-A

Man, this story makes me sad.

I feel for the "Blue" guy, we all make mistakes, and I know years ago I street raced like crazy, and even got into a near head on with a 700 HP Porsche during a stupid IDIOTIC 2 separate races going down opposite ends of the road.

However, I learned and wised up. I've lost numerous friends in street race accidents, and as much as I hate to say it, considering I could have been responsible for someone's life, knowing full well I'm a good guy who makes mistakes, and would learn from such a mistake, and knowing "I don't deserve to go to jail", I still just get really P'O'd at street racers nowadays. I mean how can you not think that it could be YOU or YOUR loved ones on the road where some idiot is racing down?

I see idiots on this Board post races on public roads, weaving in and out of traffic, with Members stroking their ego's. I'll bet if your loved one was victim to such stupidity you'd be singing to a different tune.

Anyway, the whole thing sucks. The fact that the guy was under the influence makes me even more angry at him for being so stupid, and for helping end the life of another man. However, the other side of me acknowledges, "we all make mistakes", and we've all done stupid sh**, and continue to. I only wish for anything I might goof up on by being foolish, I'd get sympathy. And I do wish "Bluemax" got sympathy too (not saying I think he shouldn't get sentenced or anything, just making a "blanket" statement), as no doubt his life is in shambles regardless of where he ends up, and I'm sure he's a good guy. Best wishes to the guy who got killed's family, RIP to him, and best to all involved.

Benz-O-Rama

RIP - Old dude.

Does California not have this law?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boulevard_rule

We do in Maryland. I wonder if things end up different for the racers if this happened in my state?

cte430

I love how people say "people pull out in front of me all the time" and similiar comments. If you know that, and you're on a road with traffic lights and cars making left hand turns into you DON'T RACE ON THAT ROAD! Why would you do that if you know people have no clue and might pull out in front of you?

I'm also not going to say I never raced anyone, but maybe with age you get a little smarter. I would NEVER race on a busy street like that. I'm challenged almost daily, idiots weaving in and out of traffic etc.

In fact, last Sat., first day of spring and about 70 degrees I took my car out for a drive. I'm driving along Ocean parkway and onto the meadowbrook. Those that know the area know lots of nice cars cruise that spot. But, it's the first day of spring, exotics all out in force, with LOTS of cops to boot. I had an S65 riding side by side for ever trying to get me to race. Two guys in the car, looked about 25 or so. No way was I going to race. That was a perfect scenario to get nailed BIG TIME. First beautiful day, lots of nice cars out and you better believe the cops know that as well. Why would this idiot want to race? There's probably some guy on some forum saying how some chicken porsche driver wouldn't race him. Sorry, maybe i have a lot more to lose than he does.

A speeding ticket is one thing, getting hit with racing is a whole 'nother ballgame.

juicee63

How can people who have no idea about this case lynch the guy?

It will never be proven he was racing. The case was pleaded down and the STATE agreed to do this based on a LACK OF EVIDENCE. Going to trial and losing is not an option in this case. Why do you think Arizona offered Mr. Van Brakel and Mr. Aronica a plea down to a much lessor charge? Aronica is likely not gonna spend one day in jail yet it was his 2nd impact that ejected Cal. The ejection is what killed the driver not the impact as everyone keeps posting.



Yes if he was racing and killed someone he should be punished accordingly.

How he will pay restitution from a jail cell is beyond me, but you go ahead and lock him up throw away the key while the driver that actually KILLED HOLMAN walks,

makes sense.

Quadcammer

I think the other guy should get the same sentence, barring any differences in DRUGS in their system.

And if you are gonna argue they weren't racing, I'd hope you'd have some evidence of that.

juicee63

Why should drugs matter? If they were racing , then racing was the cause not drugs.

Van Brakel was not charged with the DUI until many months later when the State realized the speed estimates were 30 mph off.

Throwng more charges at him to cause duress and possibly coerce him to turn against Aronica.

He was not charged with DUI or DWAI, or any other impairment in the initial complaint.

I know in a "race" a 507 hp car with a seasoned NHRA driver behind the wheel going light to light over a thousand feet distance would result in a significant gap. A gap that just was not there. If there was a gap, the Mustang driver should have seen the impact and avoided the second hit that caused the ejection and death of Cal Holman.



bottom line is the State of Arizona got the drivers to turn on eachother to effectively get this case off the books. If there was enough evidence to prove racing the 2nd degree murder charge sticks.




What I believe.
Young kid from out of state looks two lanes over and sees a brand new E63 AMG.

AMG takes off , Mustang driver tries to catch up. E63 driver cruising , Mustang driver goes WOT to do the fly by.

Mr. Holman turns infront of AMG, impacting passenger rear quarter.
Camaro spins and the speeding Mustang impacts drivers door launching Holman out into the air and onto the street. The Mustang rolled over and landed in business park.


If racing caused this accident then the TWO DRIVERS RACING SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY

I guess this is my biggest problem with the end result

c32AMG-DTM

A tragic event for all parties. Seems to me, those who personally knew and/or befriended any parties of interest will have an inherent bias affecting their views on this matter... which is understandable.

Sounds like Mr. Van Brakel will be sentenced to a longer duration than Mr. Aronica, because Mr. Aronica was more cooperative with the prosecution than Mr. Van Brakel. Isn't that fairly normal?

Either way, I may be wrong, but I doubt Mr. Aronica "walks with probation" - while theoretically possible, it would be the most lenient sentencing allowed. IMHO, it's more likely he's sentenced to 12-18 months. Past histories of both drivers being "serial speeders" certainly doesn't help their causes, nor that Mr. Van Brakel was under the influence of illegal drugs at the time.

Agree with 220S's post above - sums it up well. Both will likely have substantial civil damages assessed, independent from their criminal sentences.

emoving

I am completely supprised by the ignorant posts in this thread! Juicee......seriously 67mph! If you think that damage happend at a speed of 67 MPH, you have serious issues or you are completely ignorant to crush factors from accidents. That crash happend at speeds no less then 80mph. You guys need to get a clue. I hope the guy goes to jail and then gets treated like a little biach the entire time.

cahiil55k

In San Francisco that's around $800 in fines and a *****load of points. He would have been charged with blocking an intersection too since we're so broke up here in the north bay. If he had survived, he would have been cited up the ****.

I don't condone street racing in populated areas or in traffic. At the same time I can't accuse Bluemax of racing because things can get twisted 720 degrees in the interrogation rooms. I am for keeping idiot drivers (i.e driving while talking on cell phone, failing to yield to right of way) off the roads so they might live longer.

It's a fact, drivers on cell phones kill more people per year than street racers.

chiromikey

josh, there's no point in argueing with people that don't know (or want to know) the facts. regardless of the highly unfortunate circumstances, those that know rob, know he IS a good guy and hopefully he can take a tiny bit of comfort in that.

juicee63

I am just going off COURT DOCUMENTS and reconstructionist versions and speed estimates.

I did not pull that number out of space. The speed estimate is not an opinion, it is a professional's sworn testimony.


I hope you never suffer any misfortunes in your life

DFW01E55

It's the internet, obviously there's less justice here than in an AZ court.

One big problem for Rob, Mr Holman was connected. In a situation like this, you (I would) use your connections to extract your own version of justice. Life's not fair to either party here.

A tragedy for all concerned.

Gondon

It's a very sound argument you bring to the table, but its not the same.

So Mr.Holman broke 3 laws

A.)No Seat belt which led to his death
B.)Talking on Cellphone which ultimately led to his death
C.)Failing to Yield right of way which led to his death

Mr.Burkel broke one 1 law

A.)Speeding not the DIRECT CAUSE.

----------------
What sad is if they were going 45mph and he still died they would prob got away. But 46 mph and they ****ed.

Alot of people don't understand what 45mph crash is. Its rips your car to pieces...65 crash will rip it to hell. That ****ty camaro was a pos of junk that got hit by 2 cars that car will be totaled from a 40mph hit just as easily. Yet the E63 just front damage. The guy would have been thrown out either way if he cuts them off on the last second. Speeding wasn't the DIRECT FACTOR in the accident. The direct factor was his recklessness turning while on a cellphone and sadly everyone loses cause of it. EVEN if mr.BURKEL was driving solo and no mustang was around that guy would been thrown out. WE the law doesn't bring real justice, that why they accepted the plea cause in the trial the dumb jury would prob be swayed that speeding was the DIRECT CAUSE.

220S

Please explain to me how this is any different? So does the scenario about the gun still apply to this. What this car came out of nowhere also and was hit by the 18 wheeler and lets assume he was speeding.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg0IDPPo2ow

So that 18-wheeler lets say he was speeding, he gets charged with manslaughter? Yea he prob did.

None of this matters, in today's society someone has to be held responsible and its the E63 driver. That's why FANTASM argument wrong time and wrong place applies to this.

Gondon

OK SOLVED IT.

YOUR ARGUMENT IS UNSOUND. THIS IS BECAUSE THE GUY CANNOT FORtell AND DIDN'T SEE THE BULLET APPROACHING EVEN THOUGH its flying at 700mph. IF HE KNEW OR SAW IT(somehow) he wouldn't have turned and be hit.

This guy SAW THE CARS APPROACHING. YES HE PREDICTED IT AND TOOK THE RISK TO TURN. HE IS DIRECTLY AT FAULT.