For Hill-Jumping Teenagers, Speed Kills

PLATTSBURG, Mo. —  It’s a thrill--the stomach-dropping exhilaration of split-second flight as a car goes airborne at the crest of a hill.

It’s known as hill-jumping or hill-topping, a frequent pastime of young drivers seeking thrills on rural roads.

But for at least 18 people in the Kansas City area since 1996, the thrill has proved fatal, frustrating law enforcers and parents who fear that the message of danger sent with each new death isn’t sinking in.

The death toll may soon rise by three. State police are investigating hill-jumping as a possible cause of the Nov. 11 crash of a 2000 Camaro carrying five people that had just crested a hill along a country road near Plattsburg, 30 miles north of Kansas City.

Killed were driver Timothy Lawson, 16, of Plattsburg, and Lorissa Fletcher and Courtney Burcham from Cameron, both 13. Two others in the car, ages 21 and 12, were injured.

“I know he loved to race,” said Timothy’s mother, Shirley Hudson, who had recently grounded her son for driving too fast.

His friends called him “Flyboy Tim,” she said.

The deaths are focusing fresh attention on teen drivers, especially those who speed down rural roads where law enforcement is scarce and hills invite daredevils.

“I wish I had a magic answer,” said Clinton County Sheriff Dan Jones.

In late September, crews used explosives to level the crest of Ringo Road, a hilly stretch in Independence, Mo., on which 15-year-old Mistyka Fiedler died when the car she was riding in crested a hill and crashed Sept. 15. She and a friend were thrown from the car, which police say was doing at least 70 mph when it topped the hill. The friend survived.

“There isn’t a day of my life since then that I don’t think about what happened. It was a stupid thing to do,” said Jamie Elliott, a second survivor, who was buckled into the front passenger seat.

“But I don’t think it will stop happening,” she told the Kansas City Star. “Even after everything that has happened, kids have still come up to me and said, ‘We are going hill jumping. Want to go?’ ”

No police jurisdiction keeps statistics on hill-jumping fatalities. Still, law enforcement recognizes the problem, and patrol officers are stepping up speed checks on rural roads known to lure young drivers.

“When we identify an area that’s been popular for hill jumping, we’ve gone out there and tried to enforce the law,” said Capt. Philip Moran of the Jackson County sheriff’s office. “Normally it’s best to go out there when these things happen--usually on Friday and Saturday night.”

Shaken students in Plattsburg say they’re learning a tragic lesson.

“It makes you think of all the crazy things you’ve done,” said Tyler Lewis, 16. A friend, Stuart Dedman, also 16, insisted, “I’m not going hill jumping.”

Shara Logan, 19, said her younger brother used to drive fast, “but he hasn’t gotten in the car since the accident Saturday.”

Other students wonder if everyone is getting the message.

Although Sheriff Jones suggested that Missouri’s decision to raise its driving age might help, young Lewis said “it’s not that big a deal” for some kids in small towns to drive without licenses. Starting next year, Missouri’s age for an unrestricted driver’s license rises from 16 to 18.

Parents and schools could take steps to reduce the problem, said Kenneth Tongue, principal of Plattsburg High School. Just two weeks before Timothy Lawson’s crash, a wrecked car was positioned in front of a tree near the high school parking lot as part of Red Ribbon Week, a safety program organized by school nurses.

Arriving students didn’t know if the accident scene was real. Lewis judged the demonstration “convincing to a point.”

Tongue said parents should know what their kids are doing and make sure that teenagers understand the rules of the road and why speed limits are posted. Tongue also suggested teens shouldn’t drive high-performance cars, like the Camaro driven by Timothy Lawson.

Making driver education classes a statewide requirement could help, Tongue said, but many schools cannot afford them. Plattsburg High hasn’t offered them because of high costs and a lack of qualified instructors, he said.

But new classes, tougher laws and heightened law enforcement can go only so far, Tongue cautioned. The lure of speed will always be there, he said, and convincing young drivers and passengers that they should wear seat belts is difficult.

“If there’s one thing out there to get through to kids, I’d sure like to know what it is,” Tongue said.

Shirley Hudson has another suggestion: She wants to put what’s left of her son’s Camaro on school grounds as a reminder to his peers.

“If I can help any other kid not do this,” she said, “I’ll do anything in my power.”