Statistically speaking, driving a car, no matter what kind of car it is, is one of the single most dangerous things a human being does on a daily basis. While instances of fatal crashes have declined, last year over 30,000 people still died in accidents, making it one of the top accidental killers of Americans. Even those of us who work with cars on an everyday basis are not safe.

So it is with a heavy heart that we report that a Chrysler engineer driving a 2013 SRT Viper died last week while driving one of the new Chrysler supercars. Just a harsh reminder that while we may consider cars like the Viper “toys” they are in fact serious business, and must always be respected.

According to Torque News, Chrysler engineer Martin Morse was driving a 2013 SRT Viper onto the on-ramp of U.S. Route 23 when he stopped for a few minutes. Then he accelerated hard in the cold, rainy Michigan weather, only to lose control of the Viper and screech across the northbound lanes of 23 before hitting the grass median, which was divided from the southbound lane by a three-wire fence.

Morse hit the fence sideways, and two of the wires penetrated the Viper, causing Morse’s ultimately fatal injuries. The damage to the Viper was so severe that firefighters had to use the the Jaws of Life to reach the injured engineer, but ultimately it was all in vain. Our thoughts go out to Mr. Morse’s family, and hopefully his death serves as a reminder that even in 2013, driving is still a very dangerous endeavor…especially when driving a 640 horsepower supercar.