Sadly, two die in Cobra crash

[Jim Maxwell]

A man and a family friend were killed instantly last night in Greensboro when he lost control of his Cobra while traveling at what, according to a news report quoting Greensboro Police, apparently was a high rate of speed. He crossed the center line and hit another car, severely injuring 4 others. The Cobra was torn in two.
PLEASE be careful out there! Our beloved hobby isn't worth anyone's life. My condolences to all involved.
(this message edited to correct previous errors; my apologies to all)

[LateApex]

Is this info based on heresay or a reporter's story, or on a actual police report? A little sympathy for the family and friends sure wouldn't hurt, regardless of who was at fault.

[casaleenie]

Didn't think Jim's posting was insensitive. Hope the news is incorrect but Jim is from Greensboro so it's probably true...
A shame!!

[RACERAL]

This was sent out to all members of Second Strike.. the Superformance group

I am sending this to all past participants in Second Strike events.

It is Sunday morning. I just got off the phone with Steve Niebauer's
wife,
Christie. Many of you know Steve. He and his family - wife Christie
and
daughters Amanda and Bethany - have been regular and enthusiastic
participants in many events and have been featured in Second Strike.
Steve
and a friend were out riding in SP1116 last night and crashed. Both
Steve
and his friend were killed. I do not know any details. The family is
in
shock. There are no plans yet.

Pat and I spent a good bit of time with Steve and his family at the
events.
He was a terrific guy with a terrific family. We are stunned and
saddened
by this loss. We will miss him. Steve had many friends in the
Superformance
community. Christie ask that I contact you and let you know. If you
want to
send a card or contact the family, Steve's address is:

The Steve Niebauer Family
7705 Wilder Court
Greensboro, NC 27409


Mike and Pat Stenhouse
Second Strike

[southernfriedcj]

Very sad news, my sincere sympathy to Mr. Niebauer's family and friends.

[Hal Copple]

With Mike Stenhouse, and the Olthoff's, i drove up to Steve's house this afternoon, to be with his wife, and two daughters. Afterwards, we examined the crash site.

Out of respect to our deceased, and much missed friend, and his family, i will only correct the post by saying that the passenger was not his girlfriend, but a friend of the family. Steve was a loving father and husband, and those of us that knew him personally miss him greatly. The passenger was not from this area, but visting the family.

A very sad day for all of us, and our close knit family. But we should not publish incorrect information about such a sad and as yet not fully understood event. Steve was a very experienced driver, and i never met a man who loved his two daughters and wife more than he did.

With sad regrets,

[G.R.]

Very , very sad to hear.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.

[Dan Semko]

Hal,
Thank you for clarifying the above information.
Our sincerest sympathy to Mrs. Niebauer and her daughters.

Dan & Sue Semko

[RACERAL]

I met Steve only once at VIR and he really did love his wife and daughters... It was so evident with only the one meeting.. he will be missed.. We shared photos over the last couple of years.. He worked with my cousin at the bank.. I did get a video of Steve on the grid with a big grin and a thumbs up.. God Speed , Steve. Our thoughts and prayers will be with your family

[ERA 626]

Very sad news. My condolences to the family.

[Jeff Frigo]

Sad, especially for the other car.

[ERA535]

My thoughts and prayers are with them all.

This kind of thing makes me take a minute to think about how this could easily occur to almost any of us as I am sure at one time or another we have gone through the gears hard....

Pat Buckley

[Neal Jackson]

Condolences to families of the decedents and hopefully none of the innocent victims in the other car die from this tradgedy.

Follow up of accident related facts would be appreciated and likely helpful to many.

Such a waste.

[Mark Husar]

Our most sincere condolences to the family on their tragic loss. Our prayers are offered for all those involved.

My granddaughter and I barely missed the same circumstance on a sunny afternoon. Nobody's fault...just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I was lucky to drive away unhurt.
Sincerely,
Mark & Cindi

[Hal Copple]

Why is there the assumption that he was speeding or accelerating hard? At the accident site, it seems that the right side tires left the asphalt, returned to the road, spun when the off-road tire gained traction again, and about the time his car was broadside in the oncoming lane, he and his passenger were impacted by an older Oldsmobile. This occured after dark, on an unlit rural road, and typical speeds coming down the hill for the Oldsmobile i would guess be about 50+ mph.

My daughter had the car in front of her hit a deer and roll last night down in Ga, putting a deer leg thru her windshield. Why do we assume Steve was speeding, when perhaps he was talking to his passenger, or a deer ran across in front of him, or there was ice then on the road, (it was well below freezing last night) or someother distraction/road hazard that he did his best to avoid.

They are both dead, as would be likely in a such a side impact from such a much larger and heavier car. He cannot defend his actions, so let the speculation end now. For all we know, perhaps he was heroic in an unanticipated circumstance

Vaya Con Dios, old friend

[hound dog]

Being relativley new to the cobra family I didn't get to know Steve or his family, but my condolences to everyone involved in the accident. Everyone please be careful!
h dog

[Jamo]

Hal, others...

It appears the initial post here was probably based on a news report. Reporters unfortunately make unfounded assumptions all of the time. Thanks to Hal for correcting some of the more important aspects of the terrible incident.

It's not enough by any means, but our prayers are with the family and friends of those departed...

[BamaBrett]

Here is one of the news reports on the crash:

http://www.wfmynews2.com/news/news.asp?ID=9489


I'll be saying a special prayer for those killed and injured in this tragic accident. My condolences to the families.

Please, EVERYONE, be extra careful out there.



Brett

[kountzecobra]

My sincere condolences to all families involved.

[Jim Maxwell]

My sincere apologies to the families of Steve Niebauer and his friend and to the members of ClubCobra for my incorrect and insensitive posting. My information was based on reports from EMS personnel and police present at the crash site, relayed to my partner, who spent much of the night taking care of the survivors of this tragic accident. The assumption of speeding was made by their observations of the apparent force of impact.
Obviously, in hindsight, I should never have said a word until the facts are available. Talk about foolish decisions!
My motive was to remind us all to be careful in our extremely powerful cars to prevent similar tragedies. How many times have you "almost lost it" while showing a friend the performance of your Cobra? (Not to imply that was the case in this accident, since I have no way of knowing what actually happened).
I deal almost nightly with these tragic, senseless accidents that take the lives of both those that made a mistake(even if unavoidable) and the innocent victims coming the other way. I was aware this was probably someone I knew, making it even more frustrating and sad for me.
My heart does go out to the families of all involved.