Two pedestrians killed by white Porsche~

[Normy]

Well, really, killed by the DRIVER of a white Porsche. Anyone we know? If so, please call the Fort Lauderdale police department. I'm serious- this is SO wrong!



N!

FORT LAUDERDALE - Police looking for the driver of a white Porsche that hit and killed two pedestrians along State Road A1A near the beach today say they are looking at surveillance video they hope will help them.

Upon the suspect's capture, police plan to verify whether the driver was racing with another white sports car, as a witness described to police.

Both cars, which witnesses saw going at a fast speed, fled.

The pedestrians -- two British visitors visiting Broward County -- were killed outside the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, where they were staying, a hotel manager said.

Police said the men were possibly in their 30s, but withheld the identities or addresses pending notification of next of kin.

The hit-and-run incident occurred about 2:30 a.m. as the sports cars roared down State Road A1A, also known in that stretch of road as Seabreeze Boulevard.

"They were going really fast," said Abdias Laloi, 23, a cashier at a nearby 7-Eleven store. "They were going so fast I couldn't even see what kind of cars they were, just two white cars."

One of the cars, a white Porsche, lost control as it headed southbound, swerved onto the sidewalk on the east side of the road and struck the two men in the back as they walked southbound near the Courtyard by Marriott hotel, at 440 Seazbreeze Blvd., Martinez said.

"I heard a big crash," Laloi said. "By the time I went out there, I didn't see any cars."

But a security guard at the hotel responded and found the men's bodies in a grassy area by the sidewalk in front of the hotel, Martinez said.

Police were reviewing surveillance footage retrieved from the hotel, she said.

The crash happened just south of Las Olas Boulevard on State Road A1A, a two-lane, one-way street. Its northbound lanes are on a separate road a block away.

One witness who saw the speeding cars may have called police after the accident: The person described one of the cars' headlights being out, Martinez said.

Police found the Porsche abandoned a short time later on the northbound ramp from Interstate 595 to Interstate 95. Police searched for the driver with police dogs, but no one was found.

"We don't know if the driver fled on foot or someone picked the person up," Martinez said.

The vehicle had front-end damage, and the driver's side area of windshield was smashed.

Laloi said the scene was upsetting.

"Yeah, of course, I was scared," Laloi said.

Carlos Carrasco, 39, a gym instructor at nearby Zoo Health Club, arrived in the pre-dawn hours and saw officers had closed a two-block stretch of the road. They were diverting traffic, and an ambulance was on the scene.

Carrasco figured it was a fatal accident.

"I was shocked. I couldn't believe it," he said. "The pedestrians probably didn't see it coming."

Despite the lively nightclub atmosphere along Fort Lauderdale beach, the roadway tends to start having lighter traffic past 2 a.m., said Jason Wedge, 25.

Wedge, who teaches diving at the Pro Dive business near the accident site, wondered whether the victims were tourists.

If so, "they were here to have a good time and then, this happens," he said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Fort Laudedale Traffic Homicide Investigator Sandra Knutten at 954-828-5460 or CrimeStoppers at 954-493-TIPS.

[Zeke]

Why run? Why not sit down and cry. Because the driver's life is over as he knew it. Just like the poor bastards this POS killed.

This is when we should bring back hanging. I'll pull the release on the gallows.

[speeder]

Horrible accident but I fail to see the relevance of the make of car involved. Most of the street racing fatalities around here involve some POS Nissan Altima or Honda, etc...

[onewhippedpuppy]

What is that, a turbo with a bodykit? Ugly car......

I wonder if the car was stolen? Ditching the car registered to YOU, knowing the police would find it, that doesn't sound very smart. I feel for the poor guys killed though, that's a hell of a way to ruin your vacation.

[Racerbvd]

I thought norm had a 928, must have been borrowed.

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

What is that, a turbo with a bodykit? Ugly car......

I wonder if the car was stolen? Ditching the car registered to YOU, knowing the police would find it, that doesn't sound very smart. I feel for the poor guys killed though, that's a hell of a way to ruin your vacation.

The owner will try to report it stolen.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

The owner will try to report it stolen.

That crossed my mind. Years ago, my younger brother and his friend got away with that trick after evading the cops in his friend's modified 5.0 Mustang. They were only guilty of stupidity and curfiew violation, but they got away with it. This is obviously much more serious.......

[stomachmonkey]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

That crossed my mind. Years ago, my younger brother and his friend got away with that trick after evading the cops in his friend's modified 5.0 Mustang. They were only guilty of stupidity and curfiew violation, but they got away with it. This is obviously much more serious.......

This guy will get caught.

Police seem to believe he did not flee on foot.

So he probably knew the other driver.

Driver will need an alibi.

Given the time of morning they were probably at a club together.

He'll claim he was too drunk to drive. He got a ride home and did not report until later in the day when he returned to club to get the car and saw it was missing.

They'll check with designated driver who will just happen to drive a car matching the description of the other one.

Doubt he had time to make the car look broken into, hotwired, if it's even possible on that car. Do we know if it has an electronic secure key?

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

What is that, a turbo with a bodykit? Ugly car......

Looks like a 997 GT2. Big $$$. Although, no amount of money will ever un-ring that bell. Hope they find the punk. Those cars are pretty hard to "steal" without the original key. I am betting it was the owner or someone he/she knew, who bailed and is now if full panic mode trying to come up with a believable "story". Maybe "Dieter" had something to do with it?

[onewhippedpuppy]

That's a GT2? Maybe it's just the angle, I thought it looked sorta aftermarket and gaudy.

[Eric Coffey]

Originally Posted by onewhippedpuppy

That's a GT2? Maybe it's just the angle, I thought it looked sorta aftermarket and gaudy.

Nope, you are right. Looks more like a "standard" 997TT with a GT2-ish wing. I should have known better, being in FT. Lauderdale and all.

[RWebb]

the make matters b/c now we are all gonna seem a bit more tainted in the eyes of the public

[Normy]

Originally Posted by Racerbvd

I thought norm had a 928, must have been borrowed.

You behave young man!

N!

Really, this is a tragedy and it points out the foolishness of street racing. The make of the car is irrelevant, but it reminds us especially to engage brain before clutch.

[stomachmonkey]

Gonna go out on a limb here and wager the driver is an athlete. Don't know why but just feel like it's going to be someone of note.

[rammstein]

Why does the paint on the hood look all faded, like it was in the sun for 10 years or something?

Trouble here is that there are a LOT of nice cars, a white GT2 isn't all that uncommon, so the make and model alone aren't going to point any fingers. Hopefully the plate number/vin will get to the bottom of things. Could the driver claim that a valet gave away or lost the keys to a random person?

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Gonna go out on a limb here and wager the driver is an athlete. Don't know why but just feel like it's going to be someone of note.

Dude, do you watch a lot of "The First 48" and "Cold Case Files" ?

[speeder]

Looks like a normal 997 turbo to me. Ugly(?)

[speeder]

Originally Posted by rammstein

Why does the paint on the hood look all faded, like it was in the sun for 10 years or something?

That would be a shadow where there's a dent from victim hitting hood. And any valet parking/stolen car/etc. stories are going to be a waste of breath unless your detectives down there are seriously handicapped.

[Nine17]

Originally Posted by rammstein

Why does the paint on the hood look all faded, like it was in the sun for 10 years or something?

That's dew -- the photo is evidently a "morning after" shot. Very common in coastal climates. The car looks like a 997 Turbo with aftermarket wheels and the lower body trim painted white (factory option?). Not a poor man's car for sure -- but in our culture wealth and brains no longer go hand-in-hand and personal responsibility isn't even a memory for most Americans from William Jefferson Clinton and George Walker Bush right on down to the punk jackin' your kid's lunch money and getting a hug instead of an expulsion... I wonder if old "Dieter" is going to turn up in Florida now? I'm sorry for the dead men's families.

[Neilk]

How hard would it really be to trace the owner back to the scene. Can't you retroactively get the location of someone with a cellphone from the telephone company? If so, it should be easy to figure out where the owner was.

Poor people.