Patrol: Caught At 148 MPH, Mustang Driver Says He Was ‘Airing It Out’

CBS local ^ | 8-7-13 | CBS

[TurboZamboni]

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 41-year-old Darwin man who was caught driving more than 145 mph in his Ford Mustang GT said he was “airing it out,” according to the Minnesota State Patrol. Authorities said Richard Bernhagen was clocked at 148 mph on July 17 on Tagus Avenue, a county road just outside of Hutchinson, Minn.

[CrazyIvan]

Pre airbag 911?

[justlurking]

A bit of trivia:

The clerk at the Cook County tax assessor’s office was Steven Spielburg.

And of course, the officer checking out Jake from the prison was Frank Oz, the hand and voice behind Miss Piggy and Fozzie Bear.

There were other cameos, like John Landis, Joe Walsh, and Mr. T.

[ZirconEncrustedTweezers]

Yup. To get good laps out of a Vee you have to carry speed through corners, because there’s not a hope in hell you’ll get it back on the straight. :)

Considering the funky suspension VW’s had, it handles really well. And you don’t need the brakes often, which in that car is a GOOD thing since it uses the stock VW drums! But the car communicates very well what it’s doing in a corner; I knew when I had enough speed through T1 and T9 at Thunderhill when I could feel the back end start to slide as I got back on the power. Quite a thrill once you get the hang of it.

[When do we get liberated?]

Just bought a Z06. There would be 1 pissed Corvette owner if it was shut off at 100 lol

[Jmouse007]

Was it a Dodge Stealth RTTT Twin Turbo or a Mitsubishi 3000 GT VR4? I had the privlege of owning an un modified show room 7 time “Best of Show” winning Fire Storm Red 1993 Dodge Stealth RTTT for 9 years until it got destroyed in a freak hail storm (golf balls and tennis balls made of ice falling from the sky fo 20 minutes). It was the finest, best handling, most fun car I have ever owned. It put a smile on my face every time I got behind the wheel. All wheel drive, all wheel steering above 30 MPH, 0 to 60 in 5.7 seconds. 27mpg crusing at 75MPH and a solid 19MPG around town. Rumor has it that it got “aired out” several times late at night up to 148 1/2 MPH and was rock solid glued to the road with plenty more to go but the driver was running out of road It had 63k miles on it and had never been driven in rain or snow when the fluke hail storm struck in NH of all places. Miss it nearly every day

[MeneMeneTekelUpharsin]

You were fortunate and so was I. So foolish when young. The first step to solving a problem is to admit you have one. Those who advocate every kind of evil in this country refuse to admit they have a problem and have us all headed down the highway to hell.

[MarkL]

Wasn't John Landis the director of "The Blues Brothers?" He's got a long history of really interesting cameos and castings in a lot of his movies.

Mark

[KC Burke]

I had a buddy that was a Porsche sales manager. There was a ‘72 911 S he wanted me to buy that he had taken in trade. He insisted I drive it for a few days because he was convinced I would give in and buy it.

Almost did but the money for the purchase and upkeep was a little out of my range. Those two days, however, I had a lot of fun “at speed.” It was a fine sensation to be at high speed and have excellent control and stability. Beat all of my previous high speed experience.

[Nepeta]

Did they chase this guy? That would be dumber than the 145 or the 148 MPH.

I used to work with a guy who habitually drove fast and acquired lots of speeding tickets. He claimed he was once pulled over by a state of Indiana helicopter, which dropped out of the sky to do the deed.

[Nepeta]

I definately think that only about 25% of licensed drivers are worthy to be driving anyways.

The people out at about 10 AM are the scariest. They avoid rush hour and lunch traffic, because they are scared and unsure of themselves. They're the ones doing 45 on the interstate.

I've seen some scary stupid things done by people who just did not know what the hell they were doing in mid-morning driving.

[ogen hal]

Until recently, Kerbeck’s sponsored a ToysForTots drive for Corvettes. We met at a rest stop on the AC expressway about 20 miles out (usually 400 or so ‘Vettes). The cops closed the expressway and we were let go 3 at a time...to go any speed we wanted. We had the beast cruising at 156...and people were passing us! Pretty wild. They stopped having the high speed drive in a few years ago. Some LIB weeny probably complained.

[FreedomPoster]

AKA the Italian tuneup.

[justlurking]

Writer and director.

[2001convSVT]

Many cars today quit at 100.

Yep, and all Chev's do, except the most expensive.

[Don W]

My sister’s Dodge Magnum ECM stops acceleration at 138 mph. It pulls quite strongly and then it just quits accelerating, and holds the car at that speed. You can lift your foot as much as 1/4 up, with no slowing, but it will not go any faster. I even tried on a slope, and there was no difference, up or down the hill.