Debunked: Michael Hastings Crash "cars just don't blow up" - Kim Dvorak

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Joe

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8/5/13 - Michael Hastings' 911 Callers and New Video Confirm Large Explosions


[Admin Edit for debunk:]

The unusualness of the explosions debunked:


End result the same, a mangled car on fire.


And if you think the security footage shows much bigger and brighter fireballs, then compare the footage side by side. Here's headlights, which would be basically identical, but are very dim in the helicopter footage:


Then here's the fireball:


You'd have to brighten up the lower image so that the headlights match. Obviously the security camera is in some kind of night node, and makes things look super bright and flared out. More like:



It's the same image, just different (simulated) camera settings.
 
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The security camera footage shows bright flashes, but compare that to the nighttime footage above. Multiple explosions (really more fireball than explosion). The night setting on the camera makes fireballs look a lot brighter and bigger than they are.
 
I'm posting this clip because I was there. During qualifications for the 1982 Indy 500, Gordon Smiley hit the wall nearly head-on at the end of turn 3 going into the "short chute", I was a little over a quarter of a mile away not quite halfway up the bleachers in the middle of turn 4. I'll never forget the sound and if I never hear it again, it will be too soon. It doesn't really come across on the audio in the video but there were two nearly simultaneous yet distinct explosive sounds; The first was the sharp impact of the car and the second was the loud wooosh of the fuel exploding.



Hastings car went over the sharp curb of the median just prior to impacting the tree. Hitting the curb was probably the first small flash in the vid and explosive sound people heard as the undercarriage smacked the curb with a flash of sparks and one or more tires blew out. The second flash and explosive sound would have been the car hitting the tree. The third flash and explosive sound would have been the fuel exploding. I'm sure it sounded just as violent as it looked.
 
I live just a few blocks from the crash scene so I've been able to visit and really inspect what may have happen. The real cause of the crash was Hastings not respecting the surface conditions of Highland crossing the intersection at Melrose. 051.JPG
This view is looking north from the impact tree toward the intersection at Melrose. Highland is actually going downhill when it meets up with Melrose which has a crown at its center to allow drainage. The south part of the crown is a bit more pronounced than the north that Hasting probably might not have noticed as he approach the intersection at such a high rate of speed. In addition there are two dips in the surface just before the apex of the crown that causes any car passing through to compress and release just as it crosses the apex. I can see how this release would cause the underbelly of the car to catch way too much air at that speed causing it to go momentarily airborne and the driver losing control. About a 100 feet or so south is another fairly large dip that might of further contributed to the loss of control.
The crash scene itself has been turned into a strange shrine like memorial with flowers, candles, small plastic 4th of July flags and various notes and signs. Sadly some of the signs are from Alex Jones fans exclaiming that this is not an accident.
017.JPG
While I was there a strange conspiracy lady came up to me and tried to promote the idea that this was a hit by the "Government" without any doubt. I told her I didn't think so at which point she accused me of being somehow with the government and part of the cover up.
I worry that the site might become a new Dealy Plaza from the JFK assassination with conspiracy people making a pilgrimage to a holy site.051.JPG 017.JPG 038.JPG 030.JPG 036.JPG 047.JPG
054.JPG
 
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Thanks Steve. I toyed with going over there myself, but never mustered the energy.

The first two photos there are the same - maybe you meant to post a different one?
 
Hastings was on drugs at the time of the crash according to just release report.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-michael-hastings-meth-coroner-20130820,0,5038230.story

Not considered a direct factor though.
Coroner's officials said Hastings had traces of amphetamine in his system, consistent with possible intake of methamphetamine many hours before death, as well as marijuana. Neither were considered a factor in the crash, according to toxicology reports.
Content from External Source
 
Hours before the crash, Hastings had last been seen by one witness "passed out" sometime between 12:30 a.m. and 1 a.m. The crash occurred just before 5 a.m.

I guess he got his full night sleep after being passed out and just decided to drive like a maniac at 4.30 in the morning. Seems very suspicious to me.
 
Reading the rest of that article, seems like his family was about to stage an intervention for his drug use, so he was obviously not in a good place.

We'll never know what happened exactly, but there's nothing to indication it was not either an accident or suicide.
 
One tool that can help anyone's exploration of the scene is Googles street view map of the location. Using the street view you can see how big the crown at the intersection of Melrose and Highland is along with how the lanes really narrow down as you head south along Highland. It's also kinda eerie seeing the undamaged tree photographed before this tragic accident.
I talked to one of the parking valets at the restaurant next to the intersection who said its very common to see rearview mirrors snapped off by passing cars. He said he was only on the job a couple of weeks and has witnessed 4 such cases.
https://maps.google.com/
 
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-michael-hastings-ptsd-20130820,0,2226009.story
A follow-up with some more details about a previous accident Hastings had and additional drugs he was taking to cope with his own PTSD
problems. This is clearly a tragedy and not a conspiracy. I wonder how the conspiracy web masters like AJ will treat this new revealed information.

I suspect "we were just asking questions, why is that a problem", and "the media failed to cover the story", and "why wasn't this info presented sooner, it's a conspiracy!"
 
New LA Weekly article with explosive (sorry) allegations:

Michael Hastings' Dangerous Mind: Journalistic Star Was Loved, Feared and Haunted
LA Weekly By Gene Maddaus Thursday, Aug 22 2013

----------------excerpt------------------

"...Hastings was intensely interested in government surveillance of journalists. In May, the story broke about the Department of Justice obtaining the phone records of Associated Press reporters. A couple weeks later, Edward Snowden's revelations about the National Security Agency's massive surveillance program became public. Hastings was convinced he was a target.

His behavior grew increasingly erratic. Helicopters often circle over the hills, but Hastings believed there were more of them around whenever he was at home, keeping an eye on him. He came to believe his Mercedes was being tampered with. "Nothing I could say could console him," Thigpen says.

One night in June, he came to Thigpen's apartment after midnight and urgently asked to borrow her Volvo. He said he was afraid to drive his own car. She declined, telling him her car was having mechanical problems.

"He was scared, and he wanted to leave town," she says.

The next day, around 11:15 a.m., she got a call from her landlord, who told her Hastings had died early that morning. His car had crashed into a palm tree at 75 mph and exploded in a ball of fire.

"I burst into tears," Thigpen says. "I couldn't believe it had happened again."



MORE: http://www.laweekly.com/2013-08-22/news/michael-hastings-crash/


Jordanna Thigpen: Not an Ideal Date
 
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