2008 started on a bad note when 5 days into the new year, 4 young men from
the Springfield area were killed in a hilltopping crash. In June, another
16 year old from West Plains was killed doing the same thing. It is suspected
as the cause in other teen crash death's in 2008. Numerous teens have
died over the years seeking this cheap, deadly thrill. Hilltopping, or
hilltoppin' as it is called in the Ozarks, is simply topping a hill at excessive
speed, in the hopes of getting some "air time", a period when the tires leave
the pavement. The faster the speed, the more potential the driver might go
airborne. The faster the speed, the better the odds of a deadly crash. That
isn't said to con you, or scare you. It is just one of the more basics
laws of physics.
In rally circuits, where vehicles have been modified to take the extra forces
associated with the landings, it is called hill-jumping, or "yumping".
Here is a rally driver who achieved some serious air time, with the outcome.
The parents of 19 year old Mathieu Perron have posted the video of their
son's self made movie of a hilltopping crash he did not survive, in the hopes
others will learn from his mistake.
A young lady cheats death in another hilltopping crash - One second the 13
year old Strafford teen was heading to town with three others to pick up
a movie. The next, she was laying in a field with a two inch steel fence
pole stuck thru her belly, asking a fireman "Am I going to die?". All thought
she would.
Strafford 2004
