LAKE NONA, Fla. — It was so quiet in what would’ve been Anthony Sanchez’s class Thursday morning, students said they could hear the ticking of the neighboring classroom’s wall clock.
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The teacher tried to alleviate the mood, the students recalled, but shortly after Orlando police officers announced Sanchez died, the students made their way out of school.
Groups of them arrived to lay flowers at the site on Narcoossee Road where the day before, Sanchez and one other driver lost control of their cars and slammed into tree trunks lining the side of the road. Officers and witnesses said the cars appeared to be street racing.
Sanchez was the last to be pulled from his burning vehicle, after firefighters arrived and extinguished the flames enough to use the “jaws of life” to remove him.
The friends described him as a selfless person who loved his car and looked forward to going to college next fall.
Scenes like Wednesday’s are what lawmakers, officers and deputies are working to avoid, even as they’re going up against an age group that often believes in their own invincibility.
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In 2023, Orange County deputies alone arrested and cited more than 1,000 people for street racing. In January of 2024, they made several arrests after chasing a car that drove 199 miles per hour.
The sheriff advocated for a change in the law that doubled fines to $2,000 and made street racing a felony for a second offense or if the offense impeded an emergency vehicle.
“That’s an issue that we need to take care of,” Sheriff John Mina said at the time.
Still, deputies said in January they cited 100 people for driving more than 100 miles per hour. In 2024, they cited approximately 550.
It’s unclear if the elevated number was a result of more people driving at dangerously high speeds or more aggressive enforcement.
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The driver in the near-200 mile per hour chase eventually pleaded to reckless driving, court records show, and while deputies on-scene gleefully announced they would seize his car, his life will go on.
The two teenagers recovering in the hospital from Wednesday’s crash have a long road ahead of them, their friends said at the crash site. The family of the passenger in the second car, Jordan, said he had many surgeries ahead of him.
A friend of Sanchez’s family quietly updated his GoFundMe Thursday, announcing his death and asking for donations.
“Please keep them in your prayers; anything will help,” the post said.
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