A surveillance video has gone viral after it captured a promposal that went terribly wrong, leaving one student seriously injured. The victim has since sued the school and the city for a whopping $1 million, claiming officials are to blame.
William Vannasap, a student at Arizona College Prep High School in Chandler, Arizona, was leaving campus for the day after his classes when things took a terrifying turn for the then-high school senior. Unbeknownst to Vannasap, who was on his motorcycle, he was about to cross paths with a “promposal” that would leave him seriously injured.
As Vannasap approached a campus intersection on his motorcycle, he was struck by another student driving a Porsche, who had purposely sped through a stop sign as part of a “promposal” plan. The crash, which was significant enough to deploy the car’s airbags, was captured on surveillance video, but be forewarned, it sent Vannasap flying into the air, leaving him with significant injuries. It may be difficult for some viewers to watch.
William Vannasap suffered multiple injuries during the crash, some of which he will reportedly have for the rest of his life, prompting him to file a lawsuit against the school and the city for not stopping the accident. Not only did they not stop it, but the claim alleges that school officials reportedly coordinated the “promposal” at fault, causing attorney April Speelmon, representing Vannasap, to declare it was no accident, it was planned, and it was dangerous.
“It really was a dangerous plan,” Speelmon said.
Dangerous, indeed. Rather than simply asking a girl to the upcoming high school dance, the student driving the Porsche is accused of hatching an elaborate “promposal” with school officials, where he planned to speed through a campus stop sign. The student, who was in the car with the girl he hoped would become his prom date, was supposed to get pulled over by a waiting school resource officer (SRO), making it look like he was in trouble, but it was all supposed to be a ruse.
If the plan had played out as intended, the officer would have stopped the student, then pulled out a poster, asking the girl to go to the dance with the driver of the Porsche, according to the notice of claim, 12News reported. Sadly, traffic having the right-of-way at the intersection wasn’t taken into account when the “promposal” was planned, resulting in William Vannasap and his motorcycle being struck by the Porsche, which Speelmon said was going over 40 mph when the crash happened and could have killed Vannasap.
“[Vannasap] very easily could have died in this accident by just milliseconds difference in timing,” Speelmon said.
According to the claim, the SRO and school principal were not only aware of the plan but also agreed to it. In fact, the security and body camera footage captured at the scene showed both sitting in a nearby police cruiser in the moments immediately following the crash, and according to Vannasap’s attorney, they should have known better, but they failed to put a stop to it, and her client was left to pay the price.
“Those adults at the school should have said, ‘No, we’re not going to do this,'” Speelmon said.
However, the officer tells a slightly different story, saying he thought the Porsche would “slow roll” through the intersection rather than speed through the stop sign, court paperwork states. The principal also claimed he was not aware of the plan, saying he was only in the cruiser with the SRO at the time because he was discussing an unrelated matter, the court documents allege.
Of course, the teen driver of the Porsche disputes both the principal’s and the SRO’s recollection of events. In a statement to Chandler Police, which was obtained by Attorney Speelmon, the student told investigators that he discussed the plan with the SRO and school administration ahead of time and that they had agreed to it. You also hear him say something similar at the scene of the crash, and it was captured on video by an officer’s bodycam after the accident, which is featured in the news report below.
In the lawsuit, Speelmon asked for a settlement of $1 million against Chandler Unified School District, the City of Chandler, the SRO, and the school principal, saying her client was grievously injured and would suffer from his injuries for the rest of his life, The Blaze reported.
“[Vannasap] sustained a traumatic brain injury,” she said. “He’s been emotionally very harmed by this incident.”
But, perhaps most shocking of all, the student driver was not ticketed for the crash. A spokesperson for the Chandler Police Department said that, since the crash happened on private property and was an accident, state traffic laws are not enforceable.
One can hope that this terrible accident will cause others to stop and think before hatching a potentially harmful plan that involves ignoring the rules. At minimum, that’s what happened here, as even the SRO admits that he or she knew the driver of the Porsche was not going to come to a full stop at the intersection. That’s where this plan should have ended. After all, what message does it send a student when an officer of the law says it’s “ok” to ignore a stop sign?
So, who is responsible and who isn’t? William Vannasap was an innocent bystander who was in the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving him with a lifetime of potential expenses. He shouldn’t have to bear that burden on his own. Instead, those responsible should be held accountable, and if you ask me, that’s everyone involved, from those who gave the “go-ahead” to the driver himself. While they all might have different recollections of the events, they all knew what “stop” meant. I miss the days when things were simpler and asking someone to prom didn’t involve an elaborate scheme that could leave an innocent person severely wounded.
