Dave Dudek called me this morning and informed me that Gary Davis AKA UnLawFL (V8 Buick board member "Gary") was killed in the line of duty last night. He was an Officer of the Bloomfield Township MI police. Gary was a trememdous asset to the muscle car community, and the world in general. I had the opportunity to meet him for the first time at the Spring FAST race last year, but felt like I already knew him from the message boards and emails. He was a man of great quality, and will be missed. :ball: More info: http://www.detnow.com/wxyz/nw_local_news/article/0,2132,WXYZ_15924_2882532,00.html http://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=&Number=891392&page=&view=&sb=5&o=&fpart=1&vc=1
Joel, thanx for the info. I had spoken to Gary myself before, and he was a real level headed great guy. We'll ALL miss him. Jim
Man, I don't know what to say. I met Gary and he seemly like the genuine article. After reading the Mopar Forum, it appears that he was. Words can never express the emotions of moments like these. God Speed Gary, thanks for you service and our prayers are with you and your family.
I met Gary at The Chrysler Classic in Norwalk last fall. He seemed to be a really nice guy.Gods speed to him.
I am stunned and saddend by this event. I had the honor to meet him at the 2002 harper cruise, he was a great guy and will be missed... God bless him and his family in this dark time Paul
This man was a board member? Possible to have the board send the family formal condolences on behalf of the membership?
Wow. What a terrible thing! He always had some good input here way back when. My thoughts go out to his family. You just never know......... Peter
Absolutely terrible. My thoughts & prayes go out to his friends/family. I really enjoyed jawing with him over at Moparts...
Saw it on the news last night. It was the top story and they spent a good amount of time talking about it. That is a bad way to die and his car looked really torn up. A few other people are in the hospital in critical condition. To those healing good luck and get better soon and to the family of Gary our condolences to them. Seems too many people that have influenced people on this board are dying.
It's a sad time, Gary was more than a good person, he set a high standard for the hobby. His life was taken early, but his memory will live on in the hearts of the many people he helped and those who knew him well. RIP Unlawfl :ball:
Terrible news indeed. I met Gary at the 2003 FAST race in Mich. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends.
You should double post this to the "bench" if you haven't already, if you have, ignore me, but that really sucks.
Was he standing out side the car or inside it? "The Royal Oak man is accused of slamming his yellow Ford Focus into Davis Bloomfield police cruiser, killing the officer. " It sad of course but I just wonder. Maybe if he was in a old Buick tank he would of been ok. here is a working link. http://www1.wxyz.com/wxyz/nw_local_news/article/0,2132,WXYZ_15924_2913261,00.html
It's my understanding that he was using the emergency turn around to head back the other way to the police station with a drunk driver in the cage and for whatever reason he pulled into the path of the Focus. I have heard the Focus was driving without headlights and at a high rate of speed. Not sure if Gary was distracted by his prisoner in the back of if he just didn't see the Focus or perhaps couldn't judge the oncoming speed of the Focus?
That's kinda the way it was shown on TV here and in the paper. He pulled from the RH shoulder across 3 lanes of Interstate toward the center turnaround and was Tboned by the Focus in the far left lane. Didn't say anything about lights on or off, but only that the person he arrested in the back seat was being taken in for drunk driving (newer yellow Mustang Cobra conv), and the Focus was flat assed flying. Any way you cut it, it was tragic. I'm sure the lawyers will prosper, though.
The info I posted was picked from some of what I read on Moparts. I can't say any of it is the gospel truth. I'm sure this will be one of those things that never really get's 100% figured out. Dave, I just re-read your post..So are you saying the Focus was coming up from behind him? If so that would explain him getting hit in the drivers door. I thought he was hit when he pulled into oncoming traffic(opposite direction), but couldn't figure out how he got hit on that side.
YUP According to the picture in the Detroit News, the Focus was coming up behind him in the far left lane and he either didn't see it coming or misjudged its speed. He crossed over 3 lanes and it Tboned into the drivers door of his cruiser as he crossed the lanes to go through the center median to go the other way on the eway. No mention of whether or not he had the emergency flasher lights on.
