Sunday, September 6, 2009

TEXAS: Swanging? Swangin? However you spell it, a 12-year-old boy died around 2 a.m. after he fell off the hood of a car that was swanging/swangin down the road. Roderick Brigance, age 12, died after he was run over by the car he was sitting on. The 17-year-old driver first fled the scene, and then came back and turned himself in.

Swangin is a dangerous-looking cruising method, in which the drivers veer from one side of the road to the other side of the road back and forth, crossing into oncoming traffic if necessary.

UPDATE: A later story claims Roderick was just sitting on the hood of the car, and the driver came out and sped away, running him over. So it's unclear whether swangin was the real cause of the crash.


NORTH CAROLINA: The Charlotte Observer reports that a 16-year-old girl died Sunday in a single-car accident. Brittany Johnson was driving on Mauney Road when she ran off the road and into a ditch around 6:30 p.m., police said. The car then struck a utility pole.

More details came out later about the accident. Brittany was texting her mother when the crash occurred, according to this TV news story. Police say she ran off the road, struck an embankment, went airborne and struck a pole. It appeared the top of the car near Brittany's head struck the pole before the car spun around. Witnesses said it was wrapped around the pole like a horseshoe.

Read the TV story to hear more details about the help that came from neighbors.

Kylee Acre

PENNSYLVANIA: A local TV station reported that 16-year-old Kylee Acre was killed in an accident Sunday after the driver of the car she was in crossed the center line and hit an oncoming vehicle. Kylee, who was an active volunteer with organizations like Locks of Love, the Salvation Army, a rehabilitation center and a nursing home, was beginning her junior year at Burrell high school. The driver of the car, 18-year-old Jonathan O'Sullivan, was taken the hospital with serious injuries. Three other people were also hurt in the crash.

Here's Kylee's MySpace page. She lists her mommy as her hero, and posts this quote from Bob Marley: "One good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain."

LOUISIANA: Not much detail on this accident: Police say 17-year-old Allison Miller was killed when her vehicle flipped and struck a tree. She was found dead at the site of the accident around 11:30 p.m. Sunday. The car appears to have left the roadway, flipped, and hit the tree.

Her obituary is here.