thrashercharged
New Member
- Joined
- Dec 19, 2007
It is with great sadness and regret that I write this in the hopes that another tragedy like this might be prevented. My friend, neighbor and colleague, Chris Lupini, lost his oldest son after letting him borrow his 87 GN for the first time. Anthony Lupini, his 18 year old son, was a freshman at Purdue University home for Christmas. Anthony was headed out to the video store and begged his father to allow him to take the GN. Thinking that Anthony was mature enough, Chris agreed after giving him a stern warning of what not to do, how careful he needed to be with the throttle and to respect the car's power. Unfortunately, the temptation was too much for an 18 year old kid. The accident occurred on a straight stretch of asphalt coming back from the local high school (not on the usual route to the video store). It is reported that the GN was approaching speeds of 100 when it slid sideways into a yard, went airborne for 50 feet and hit a tree.
Anthony was a bright kid, an Eagle Scout following in his father's footsteps as an engineering major at Purdue University with a bright future, but a single act of immaturity wiped that away in an instant. I think this is every performance car enthusiast with kids (especially sons) worst nightmare, and something we struggle with as our kids reach driving age. When do we give them the keys to our fast cars? I hope we all learn from this and don't do it too soon.
For those of you wondering about the car, it was a mint condition low mileage GN, about an 11 sec car built with early parts, most probably prototype/experimental to what's out there today. It was the early 90's and these cars were relatively new (when 11's was hard to achieve), our kids were young (and of course, we were young ourselves) and the GN/TR were the toys of choice among us GM engineers at the time. Chris, like most of us, kind of lost interest in the cars as our kids got older and things like Boy Scouts and school sports started taking over our time, and he actually sold this GN. But as you know you can never get rid of that GN/TR bug once it bites you; he got interested in GN/TRs again and bought his GN back just this year. The guy he sold it to rarely drove it, it was parked and had a powermaster problem that Chris just repaired while Anthony was away in college, which is why he hadn't had the opportunity to drive it yet. It is very tragic that he's lost both his GN and his son. Perhaps it may be a small consolation to him if his tragedy can prevent another from happening.
God bless the Lupini family; we'll keep them in our prayers.
Published: December 18, 2007 10:54 pm
Teen dies 4 days after car accident
Anthony C. Lupini was home from Purdue on semester break.
By JOHN DEMPSEY
Tribune staff writer
Four days after the car he was driving crashed into a tree, Anthony C. Lupini, 18, died Tuesday without ever regaining consciousness. He was pronounced dead as the result of serious head injuries at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Methodist Hospital, the Marion County Coroner’s Office informed Howard County Sheriff Marty Talbert.
Friday afternoon, Lupini was southbound on 400 West at a speed police estimated in excess of 90 mph when the 1987 Buick Grand National he was driving left the west side of the road. Police said he overcorrected and slid sideways in a yard before going airborne for more than 50 feet into the tree.
Lupini was flown directly from the scene by Life Line helicopter to Methodist Hospital suffering from a compound fracture of the left leg, possible internal injuries and lacerations to his head, the sheriff said. Lupini was unconscious at the scene and had to be cut from the vehicle. It took emergency workers nearly 50 minutes to cut him free.
Anthony’s father, Chris, told police he let his son borrow the Buick to run to the video store.
A 2007 Northwestern High School graduate, he had come home Friday from Purdue University for semester break. Talbert called the crash one of the worst he’s seen in his 30 years of law enforcement. “These types of crashes always bother me,” he said, “but it’s even worse at this time of the year. “There’s only one thing you can say and it’s the same thing: Speed kills. There’s no other way to say it. I don’t care if you’ve been driving 30 years or 30 days. It doesn’t change it.”
Anthony C. Lupini
Anthony C. Lupini, 18, Kokomo, died at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007, at Methodist Hospital as a result of a tragic automobile accident. He was born Jan. 15, 1989, in Alexandria, Va., the son of Christopher A. and Carrie (Toler) Lupini.
Anthony was a first-year student at Purdue University majoring in engineering. He was a 2007 graduate of Northwestern High School, where he was an honor student. He had been an active member of Boy Scout Troop 508 and had achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He was a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church, where he had served as a Guardian of the Sacred Mysteries for the past four years. He was an accomplished pianist who enjoyed reading and was most happy when enjoying God’s creations in the out-of-doors.
Anthony was a bright kid, an Eagle Scout following in his father's footsteps as an engineering major at Purdue University with a bright future, but a single act of immaturity wiped that away in an instant. I think this is every performance car enthusiast with kids (especially sons) worst nightmare, and something we struggle with as our kids reach driving age. When do we give them the keys to our fast cars? I hope we all learn from this and don't do it too soon.
For those of you wondering about the car, it was a mint condition low mileage GN, about an 11 sec car built with early parts, most probably prototype/experimental to what's out there today. It was the early 90's and these cars were relatively new (when 11's was hard to achieve), our kids were young (and of course, we were young ourselves) and the GN/TR were the toys of choice among us GM engineers at the time. Chris, like most of us, kind of lost interest in the cars as our kids got older and things like Boy Scouts and school sports started taking over our time, and he actually sold this GN. But as you know you can never get rid of that GN/TR bug once it bites you; he got interested in GN/TRs again and bought his GN back just this year. The guy he sold it to rarely drove it, it was parked and had a powermaster problem that Chris just repaired while Anthony was away in college, which is why he hadn't had the opportunity to drive it yet. It is very tragic that he's lost both his GN and his son. Perhaps it may be a small consolation to him if his tragedy can prevent another from happening.
God bless the Lupini family; we'll keep them in our prayers.
Published: December 18, 2007 10:54 pm
Teen dies 4 days after car accident
Anthony C. Lupini was home from Purdue on semester break.
By JOHN DEMPSEY
Tribune staff writer
Four days after the car he was driving crashed into a tree, Anthony C. Lupini, 18, died Tuesday without ever regaining consciousness. He was pronounced dead as the result of serious head injuries at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Methodist Hospital, the Marion County Coroner’s Office informed Howard County Sheriff Marty Talbert.
Friday afternoon, Lupini was southbound on 400 West at a speed police estimated in excess of 90 mph when the 1987 Buick Grand National he was driving left the west side of the road. Police said he overcorrected and slid sideways in a yard before going airborne for more than 50 feet into the tree.
Lupini was flown directly from the scene by Life Line helicopter to Methodist Hospital suffering from a compound fracture of the left leg, possible internal injuries and lacerations to his head, the sheriff said. Lupini was unconscious at the scene and had to be cut from the vehicle. It took emergency workers nearly 50 minutes to cut him free.
Anthony’s father, Chris, told police he let his son borrow the Buick to run to the video store.
A 2007 Northwestern High School graduate, he had come home Friday from Purdue University for semester break. Talbert called the crash one of the worst he’s seen in his 30 years of law enforcement. “These types of crashes always bother me,” he said, “but it’s even worse at this time of the year. “There’s only one thing you can say and it’s the same thing: Speed kills. There’s no other way to say it. I don’t care if you’ve been driving 30 years or 30 days. It doesn’t change it.”
Anthony C. Lupini
Anthony C. Lupini, 18, Kokomo, died at 1 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 18, 2007, at Methodist Hospital as a result of a tragic automobile accident. He was born Jan. 15, 1989, in Alexandria, Va., the son of Christopher A. and Carrie (Toler) Lupini.
Anthony was a first-year student at Purdue University majoring in engineering. He was a 2007 graduate of Northwestern High School, where he was an honor student. He had been an active member of Boy Scout Troop 508 and had achieved the rank of Eagle Scout. He was a member of St. Patrick Catholic Church, where he had served as a Guardian of the Sacred Mysteries for the past four years. He was an accomplished pianist who enjoyed reading and was most happy when enjoying God’s creations in the out-of-doors.
My prayers go out to his Family.
