news-record.com

A Reidsville man was killed Saturday night on a service road near U.S. 29 in Rockingham County while test driving a car souped up for drag racing, the Highway Patrol reported.

After apparently reaching speeds up to 115 mph in an unregistered 1988 Ford Mustang, James Daniel Strange, 50, of 1403 Kenwick Court crossed the center line of the service road, hit a ditch, went airborne and struck a tree at an estimated 80 mph, Trooper M.S. Rakestraw said Sunday.

Rakestraw said the 8:14 p.m. crash, witnessed by the owner of the car and the owner’s son, took place on a rural paved road near the Caswell County line that has been a frequent spot for drag racing.

“It’s been an ongoing problem. We keep running them off, because sooner or later, someone innocent is going to get hurt,” Rakestraw said. “The only thing I know to do is put cameras on the road.”

The trooper said the Mustang was not “street legal” — equipped with racing slicks on the back wheels and only a single seat — and had no registration or insurance.

The driver was not wearing a seat belt, according to the report.