LINCOLN, Neb. --
Lincoln police said a 19-year-old man who took his girlfriend's new car out for a test drive Monday night lost control and slammed into a dump truck, causing severe injuries to his passenger.
Police said Jacob Buchanan hit 95 mph on McCormick Street in Northeast Lincoln before trying to stop at a T intersection. The car jumped the curb at 70th Street and went airborne through a fence, police said.
His passenger, 29-year-old Justin Lowder, wasn't wearing a seat belt. Lowder suffered a broken back, broken ribs, a broken leg, head and other injuries, police said.
Buchanan and others had to pull him from the burning car. He is expected to survive.
Buchanan's girlfriend wasn't in the car at the time, police said.
One dump truck was totaled in the resulting blaze; two others were damaged.
Police said they've had problems with street racing in the area. One person has died amid three crashes on the stretch of road, said Lincoln Police Chief Tom Casady.
Buchanan told police he wasn't racing his girlfriend's 2004 Dodge Intrepid, which her parents bought for her, at the time of the crash. However, police said they arrested Buchanan 11 days ago for street racing at 29th and O streets.
Casady said the road has gained a reputation for drag racing. That hasn't escaped the attention of police and the Nebraska State Patrol.
Business owner Adam Karavas said the racing started when the road was paved about six years ago.
"Oh, we knew it was going to happen because it's out in the country," Karavas said.
He said cameras installed around his business would have captured the crash, but four weren't working on Monday night.
"As long as you have a straight stretch, they'll continue to do it. How many places can they go that's isolated at night and lit up so they can see what they're doing?" Karavas said.
Constructors Inc. owns the property where the crash happened. Police said the dump truck destroyed in the crash was worth $100,000. Two other trucks will need $50,000 worth of repairs, police said.
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