Leer dies in 'hood surfing' incident on Saturday

This is such a sad situation here, what makes it even more sad is that no ambulance respond to this because it was a the races. Come on now we have more than one in this county. I know now not to have an emergency on saturday nights because the ambulance will be at the races. Another thing is that the driver is going to walk away with nothing from this because they wasn't drunk. Doesn't that make things even worse, when you have a sober person doing something so stupid, careless and irresponsible. Matt paid for his irresponibilty with his life, and I think that the driver should be held responsible for it too. IF that would have been Matt driving that vechicle, you could bet that he would be sitting in jail right now for at the least involvantry manslaughter.

From whatever one else knows so far is that Matts dad is going to slap the driver with charges!! Im sure that matt wouldn't want his bestfriend to be charged with something that wasn't her fault. Hes the one that was up on the roof. I'm sure that hes the one that talked the driver and everyone else in to letting him do that!!!!

my condolance to the family. I know that the person driving the car is in pain of losing a friend to. Throwing the book at his friend would not be the thing to do.

keepingitprivate, the ambulance did respond to this scene. They did transport a person to the hospital as well. Yes, the ambulance has 5 rigs and two of them were on other calls at this time. For what its worth, the first out ambulance doesn't attend the races because of having other calls in the county to run.

It takes another crew (of at least 2 EMT's) to attend the races. The first out crew ran calls during the races so they wouldn't be able to respond anyway, thats why they have another crew for the races. Next time, make sure you have all the facts not just some. Besides, how do you suppose the gentleman arrived at the hospital???

Matt was my cousin and yes he madee a boneheaded error thatcost him his life. However Mrs. christine Knapp should also pay the price for allowing something so blatantly dangerous go on while she was driving. at the very least she should never be allowed to drive a car again. That being said i don't know if manslaughter is the way to go either.

I know for a fact that an ambulance did respond to this accident because I don't live to far from where it happened and they went by my house hammer down right after it came over my scanner that one was needed at Alma & Berry streets Stat.

So our Saturday Night Races has nothing to do with it. I also believe the driver should get something out of this for allowing it to happen in the first place but I also know the meaning of Peer Pressure in this town is terrible.Anything to fit in when you don't have money like others do.

So, at this moment, I'm getting ready to go to my cousin's funeral. It's a sad deal, what happened, but I know that he is in a much happier, safer place now. Not only that, he is with his mother, finally, after 20 years. For everyone who is saying how irresponsible he was & that he deserved this, how can you have so little compassion. That may be true but that doesn't mean that he deserved to die. As far as the driver goes, I do feel like she should be held responsible for her part in this, too. Accident's happen & she will have to live with the memory of this for the rest of her life. I hope she finds a way to cope with this but, that doesn't excuse her from her actions either. My cousin paid the price for his now she should do the same. I just hope that she can find a positive way to deal with what happened & not use it as an excuse to ruin the rest of her life. I know that a lot of times people will start feeling sorry for themselves after situations like this & they spiral out of control. I hope that doesn't happen for her. I love you, Matt. We'll miss you. Tell my Aunt Sis we love & miss her, too.

I have questions, so many questions. Were they the only 2 involved in this? Were there others that witnessed it? Hopefully no children were around to see this happen. Another thing, what injuries did he sustain? Was this fatility due to just falling from the vehicle at a high rate of speed or did she drive over him? Have there been no offical charges yet? My heart goes out to all that were affected by this terrible tragedy.

This is a dreadful thing to have happen in our community. The saddest thing I believe has come out of this tradgedy is so far I have heard peoples complaints about "the ambulance" and "what should be done to the driver" I think that people should focus on the fact that this does happen in our community, whether its reported on or not. It is a sad day when we throw stones at others for what people old enough to know better, do anyway. This is a tradegy that ms. knapp will have to live with the rest of her life, and that is punishment in itself. What we need to do is start talking to our children or "not so children" and remind them however bored they are stupidity is not productive or safe.

In my opinion every driver of "hood surfing" should be charged with attempted "depraved indifference" homicide.

The surfer, at the VERY least, is violating seat belt laws.

That stunt lacks intelligence, craziest thing I have ever heard of. The person that started this, should be behind bars.I'll tell you that the driver has already paid, because of what she seen and went through. Anything else will not bring him back. Don't go out for blood, it doesn't work. I lost my son, believe me,it doesn't ease the pain. God Bless those who lose children.

That stunt lacks intelligence, craziest thing I have ever heard of. The person that started this, should be behind bars.I'll tell you that the driver has already paid, because of what she seen and went through. Anything else will not bring him back. Don't go out for blood, it doesn't work. I lost my son, believe me,it doesn't ease the pain. God Bless those who lose children.

It was on the news just yesterday that a man in Southern Missouri was charged with involuntary manslaughter for letting a female ride on the tailgate of his truck and she fell off and died.

Nevada is so behind in the times that it gives preferential treatment to females.

If this situation was reversed with the male driving and the female on the hood he would be in jail right now charged with involuntary manslaughter!

In response to Nevada is so behind in times: it was the Missouri State Highway Patrol who issued the driver a ticket. Which furthermore would have went to the hands of the Vernon County Prosecutor so if you are unhappy with the decision made, maybe you should inquire with the prosecutor as to why it was handled the way it was. I do not know you, or whether or not you are a registered voter, but rather than bash Nevada as being behind in times on a blog, maybe we should choose our prosecutor more wisely.

I'm a registered voter who votes every time!

I agree, I or someone should inquire with the prosecutor as to why it was handled the way it was!

Anyone who doesn't admit that Nevada is behind in the times on a lot of issues is in denial!

I don't think she should have been charged with any kind of manslaughter. Seeing it happen was punishment, and I'm sure she'll see it for a long time to come. Accidents happen. Hood surfing probably goes on a lot more than people think. It's not a wise choice, but people do a lot of things that are less-than-wise. It's very unfortunate that this incident ended the way it did, tragic indeed. So, let's not start head-hunting. Enough blood has been shed here.

Ok you all know that you all are arguing over the internet on a comment board about this touchy subject.

I agree with that this young lady Mrs. Knapp will pay for this tragic accident by the memories she will have about the accident happening in front of her eyes and not only that but she lost her best friend as well. These are grown adults who knew what was right and what was wrong, but yet this town is always looking for someone else to blame. Okay before you all take my head off just listen/read what I am saying: Yes she should have not agreed to drive while he was on top, yes she knew better and so did he. But come on folks where do young people in this town go to have some actual fun? That is like even the teenagers of this town (getting pregnant at an early age) because why....nothing creative or anyhting for them to do fun wise. There is nothing fun wise for people to do in this town that do not drink or want to even to the bar scene so a lot of people do a lot of stupid things.

So maybe if you all wanted people to not do crazy things or stupid things then make a place for people to go and have fun without alcohol. bar scenes around here is all people do. But if your a young adult who does not want to drink where to go or what to do??? If your a teenager in this town where to go and wha to do?? The skatepark? Not open yr round. The pool not open yr round. The community center not really.

I agree that this young lady will pay and has been paying the price for what has happened and so did Matt. But dont point fingers if all of you do not know what really happend. I know I don't know the facts about what happened because I was not there and I dont know these individuals. But i do know that God has put us on this earth to make a difference but not a bad difference.

Maybe if you do get things together in Nevada as far as maybe putting a skate park (like Joplin has) or just something for people to do that does not consist of a bar or a payday loan place then maybe we can make the children/teens/young adults of Nevada just a little bit more happier and not want to do crazy things.

Picrus, She should have been at home with her kids where she belonged. She alot older than me and all that stupid crap should of ended when she started having babies.

So apparently being a parent means you can't go out anymore??? keepingitprivate should do just that.. or maybe post your name on here so people can know who you actually are.