Spectators killed in California 200 race 'didn't have much of a chance,' CHP says | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

 

Just for purposes of discussion, how much blame should we put on the spectators for lining up along a dirt track? Roll-overs are common in off-road races, and you would think that fans would know that.

I don't know if this was on an obvious curve or not.

It won't surprise me if the Feds pull all future events.

 

I'd put it in the neighborhood of 100%.

 

I wouldn't say 100%, because the organizers should take some responsibility for designating spectator areas. But some common sense all around might save lives.

I don't know enough to make judgements. All I know is it was tragic and unnecessary.

I would bet that these spectators chose that spot because they knew they would see some "big air". They got their wish and then some.

 

I don't know about the 4-wheel races, but when I raced two-wheelers there, there were absolutely no restrictions on where spectators could be. It was entirely up to their own discretion how far they wished to remain from the racers.

The film clips I've seen on TV today indicate that spectators were "right there".

The problem is that there WILL be lawsuits, and the BLM will undoubtedly be named as the Deep Pocket. That gives them incentive to mandate the end.

Just one more thing that will go to Mexico, and that's where the REAL danger is, but not from the race cars.

Pop

 

Lawsuits are the root of a lot of what's wrong with this country.

 

Isn't THAT the truth. Lawyers bringing the suits, and insurance companies settling without a fight if they see it as the "cheapest solution", without regard to what's really right.

Pop

 

Brett M. Sloppy, 28, lost control of his modified 2000 Ford Ranger while he was driving 45 to 50 miles per hour, killing eight people in the crowd, according to CHP Officer Joaquin Zubieta.

For more, see:
Driver in California 200 crash identified by authorities | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

Sucks to be him today.... Here's his Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?...4316505&v=wall

and MySpace:
http://www.myspace.com/miserymotorsport

Google Misery Mortorsports for shots and videos of his truck before the wreck.


AP UPDATE:

""LUCERNE VALLEY, Calif. – An off-road truck sailed off a jump and hurtled into a crowd at a race in the California desert, pinning bodies beneath it and sending others flying into a chaotic cloud of dust in a crash that killed eight people, authorities and witnesses said Sunday.

Twelve people were injured in the crash that came shortly after the twilight start of the California 200 Saturday night in the Mojave Desert, said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman.

Witnesses said the driver took a jump in an area known as "the rockpile" at high speed, hit his brakes on landing and rolled sideways into a crowd of hundreds of people standing with no barriers next to the course.

"He hit the rock and just lost control and tumbled," said Matt March, 24, of Wildomar, who was standing next to the jump. "Bodies went everywhere."

March said he and several other fans lifted the truck, which came to rest with its oversized wheels pointing toward the sky, and found four people lying unconscious underneath.

At least seven of those killed were in their 20s, including 24-year-old Zachary Freeman of Fillmore, according to the San Bernardino County coroner.

Freeman's girlfriend Niky Carmikle, 19, said she had left Freeman and his best friend — 24-year-old Dustin Malson of Ventura, who also was killed — to go to the bathroom when the crash happened. When she returned she found the wild aftermath.

"Bodies all over the ground, people screaming, and all I wanted to do was find my boyfriend and my friends," Carmikle told The Associated Press. She stood and sobbed Sunday over a makeshift memorial on the spot of the crash: a small cross and a circle of rocks near the ruts in the ground left by the truck. Bags of victims' clothing, some of it bloody sat nearby.

Brian Wolfin, 27, and Anthony Sanchez, 23, both of Escondido died at the scene, and Aaron Farkas, 25, of Escondido died at a hospital. Also killed were Danica Frantzich, 20, of Las Vegas and Andrew Therrin, 22, of Riverside.

The eighth victim died in Riverside County, and no name has been released.

John Payne, 20, of Anaheim said he was among the first people to reach the truck. He said the victims included one person who was decapitated.

"It was complete chaos," Payne said.

It took rescue vehicles and helicopters more than half an hour to reach the remote location, and spectators including off-duty police and firefighters helped the injured and placed blankets over the dead.

Six people died at the scene and two others died after being taken to a hospital, authorities said. Seven ambulances and 10 emergency aircraft responded, airlifting most of the 12 injured people from the area to hospitals.

Paramedics brought six people — five adults and a child — to Loma Linda University Medical Center, spokesman Herbert Atienza said Sunday. He had no information on their condition.

Officials said the driver, whose name has not been released, wasn't hurt. It was not clear why he lost control of the truck. Phone and e-mail messages left for the organizer, South El Monte-based Mojave Desert Racing, were not immediately returned.

The 200-mile race is part of a series held in the Mojave Desert's Soggy Dry Lake Bed near the city of Lucerne Valley, 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles.

Tens of thousands of people attend the California 200, in which a variety of off-road vehicles take jumps and other obstacles and reach speeds of over 60 mph on a 50-mile off-road course that is essentially just raw, unmarked desert terrain.

The race had been scheduled to last through the night.

The crowd, which included children, was standing within 10 feet of the track. Fans said the "rockpile" is one of the most popular areas to stand because they can get close to cars as they launch into the air, and no guard rails hold them back.

"There were no barriers at all," Jeff Talbott, inland division chief for the California Highway Patrol, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.

He said that the driver was forced to run from the scene when the crowd grew unruly and some began throwing rocks at him. Several witnesses said they didn't see anyone throwing rocks at the driver.

Fans said there are rarely any barriers or other safety guards at these races.

"That's desert racing for you," Payne said. "You're at your own risk out here. You are in the middle off the desert. People were way too close and they should have known. You can't really hold anyone at fault. It's just a horrible, horrible accident."

Carmikle said the danger is part of the appeal for many fans.

"You could touch it if you wanted to. It's part of the excitement," she said. "There's always that risk factor, but you just don't expect that it will happen to you."

The CHP does not normally investigate crashes at organized events, but took the lead on this probe because of its scope and had set up a command center at the starting line of the race.

The federal Bureau of Land Management was assisting in the investigation.

(unrelated stuff removed)

Derek Laogali, 22, of San Pedro, said Saturday night was the first time he'd ever been to an off-road race, and he witnessed the horror up close.

"I seen people on the floor with broken bones, people with blankets over them. I'm guessing they were dead," Laogali said. "People were crying and screaming. It was a nightmare."""

Pop

 

Common Sense isn't So Common anymore...

 

Spectators need to get the heck away from the track.
IMO they were asking for trouble. Looks like they found more than trouble.