Continued from Deadly Drag Racing PAGE 1...

•Andrew Nemecek, 19, pled guilty to accidentally killing girlfriend Amanda McLeod in a drag racing accident. Both kids were driving nearly 100 mph when McLeod, 20, crashed and flipped her car after swerving to avoid another vehicle that pulled out onto the road ahead of her. She was thrown from her car and died five days later.

•Five-year-old Jordan McLean of Queens was thrown from his aunt's SUV and killed after their car was struck by drag racers. After colliding with the victim's car, the drag racers fled the scene.  

•John M. Wilcox, 17, whose drag race led to the death of his best friend, was sentenced to 11 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter. Court records show both boys were racing against another teen when a six-ton Ford dump truck going the opposite direction turned in front of them. The boys swerved and crashed into a light pole. Wilcox slammed into the back of the dump truck and spun around 180 degrees. 

•Last July, Michelle Arout, 17, was riding in the back of a car with a  teen driver who was speed racing against another teen. The two cars collided while driving 90 miles per hour, causing the car Michelle was riding in to swerve off the road and crash. The impact sliced the vehicle in half and ejected Michelle from the back seat.

•Later that day, a young man and woman were killed when their car crashed into a utility pole in a suburb of Buffalo, NY. Police suspect they were involved in a drag race at the time of the accident.

According to the National Traffic Safety Administration, car crashes are the leading cause of death for teenagers. Teen drivers are in three times as many fatal crashes as all other drivers and more than 7,000 teens die annually in traffic crashes.

This problem is so rampant that earlier this year, New York State Senate introduced SAFE-TEEN New York, legislation designed to keep New York's younger, less experienced drivers safe and to prevent drag racing accidents. The bill proposes to increase the penalties for street racing from a misdemeanor offense to a felony and requires parents to attend court appearances when teen drivers are issued traffic violations. 

Clearly things are improving, but what can parents do at home to prevent their kid from drag racing? PAGE 3