>From The Tri City (Pasco,Kennewick, Richland, WA) Herald. This guy had been
to the Richland, WA Cool Desert Nights Car Show. The car looked good and
also well built. A reminder that when you shut the ignition off in a GM
column, the steering wheel locks if you turn the switch too far.
MikeK
mkluth@oregontrail.net
55-1
Stuck throttle probable cause of fatal Richland crash
This story was published 6/27/2000
By Genoa Sibold-Cohn
Herald staff writer
A jammed throttle that stuck wide open is being blamed in the death of an
Enumclaw man in a 150-mph crash late Saturday in Richland.
Richard E. Graham died late Saturday when he was ejected from his souped-up
1932 Ford Coupe.
Police said he apparently wasn't racing another car before his death,
although more than a dozen show cars and hot rods and their drivers had
gathered near the accident scene -- a curve at the end of a straight stretch
of little-used roadway.
One result is that Richland officers are investigating whether informal and
illegal drag racing has become an unintended part of Richland's annual
vintage car show, Cool Desert Nights, which was held over the weekend.
Investigators are focusing on reports of racing on Kingsgate Way last Friday
and Saturday nights. The road is in the Horn Rapids Industrial Park two
miles north of Highway 240 in Richland.
Sgt. Chris Vowels said 15 cars from the classic car show were at the
accident scene when officers arrived just before midnight. He said those who
saw the crash were visibly shaken.
Witnesses told police that when Graham began driving down Kingsgate Way,
cars were lined up as if they were about to race.
Richland officer Matt Kendall had been called out to Kingsgate Way 11:56
p.m. after dispatchers were informed there were cars racing on the road. A
minute later, Kendall was radioed about Graham's crash, Vowels said.
Kingsgate Way is etched with tire marks, which Vowels said have long graced
the roadway.
"We get reports of people drag racing out here all the time," Vowels said.
VJ Meadows, a founder of Cool Desert Nights, said drag racing shouldn't be
linked to the classic car event and isn't condoned.
She said she's appalled by talk that Graham died from drag racing.
"Just because it's an expensive show car, they want to make something out of
it," Meadows said.
Officials say the crash was caused by mechanical failure.
A city mechanic who examined Graham's car Monday found evidence that the
linkage for the dual four-barrel carburetors had jammed at wide-open
throttle.
It also appeared Graham turned off the ignition to try to slow the car, then
lost control when the steering wheel locked up.
The car reportedly left the road as it reached a curve, rolled several times
and came to rest 1,100 feet from the road.
Graham's Ford Coupe had a highly modified engine with an estimated 800 to
1,000 horsepower, a full roll cage, drag-racing slicks and a safety harness
he was not wearing.
"He wasn't a seasoned racer," Vowels said. "It was a guy who had it built
for him."
Robby Stull of Richland witnessed the crash and rushed to Graham's aid. He
died immediately from massive injuries.
"All I could see was a cloud of dust," Stull said. "He didn't even turn."
Enumclaw police notified Graham's wife, who then contacted their 14-year-old
son, who was reportedly in his Tower Inn hotel room at the time of the
accident.
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