Very sad day at MDR race .

[iNfErNaL]

My prayers go out to the families    



LOS ANGELES — An off-road truck plowed into a crowd moments after sailing off a jump at a race in Southern California Saturday night, killing eight people and leaving 12 injured, authorities and witnesses said.

The accident happened shortly before 8 p.m., just after the start of the race called the California 200, said San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Bachman.

Bachman said eight people died and 12 were were injured, several of them seriously. Seven ambulances and 10 emergency aircraft responded to the scene. Most of the injured were airlifted from the area to Loma Linda University Medical Center or St. Mary's Medical Center.

Officials said the driver wasn't hurt but had to flee the scene to escape angry spectators.

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

David Conklin, a photographer covering the event for off-road magazines, said the Prerunner truck was among the first 20 off the line in the race, and had just gone over a jump known as "the rockpile" about two miles into the race.

Conklin said he watched the vehicle sail through the air. Then Conklin turned to watch for other cars when he heard a commotion.

"I heard screaming and shouting," said Conklin, who ran toward the vehicle. "I saw one woman with a major head wound lying in a pool of blood. Someone else was crushed beneath the car."

The truck car eventually came to a rest upside down with its oversized wheels pointing toward the sky.

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 up to 100 mph on the 50-mile off-road course. The race had been scheduled to last through the night.

The crowd was standing within 10 feet of the track with no guard rails separating them from the speeding vehicles.

"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, who wasn't named, was forced to run from the scene when the crowd grew unruly and some began throwing rocks at him. It was not clear why he lost control of the truck.

The CHP does not normally investigate crashes at organized races, 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.

The event was sponsored by the South El Monte-based Mojave Desert Racing. No one picked up the phone at a number listed on the group's website early Sunday, and its message mailbox was full.

The crash was the latest in a series of race accidents that have proved deadly to spectators.

A car plowed into a crowd that had gathered to watch an illegal drag race on a suburban road in Accokeek, Maryland, in February 2008, killing eight people and injuring five. The two racers were charged with vehicular manslaughter. Darren Bullock, 22, was sentenced to 15 years in prison; Tavon Taylor, 20, is awaiting trial.

In Chandler, Ariz., in February, a female spectator was killed by a tire that flew off a crashing dragster at Chandler's Firebird International Raceway for the NHRA Arizona Nationals.

In Selmer, Tennessee, a dragster went out of control and smashed into spectators during a fundraising festival in June 2007, killing six people and injuring 22. Driver Troy Critchley, 38, was convicted of misdemeanor reckless assault charges and sentenced to 18 months probation.

[Rocksurfer]

Can't say anything but, Wow!

[Rocksurfer]

Let's not post any names here, Pirate is doing the same on theirs. This is so sad.

[*ROKTOY*]

Sad that people were killed and injured, but to go after the driver is criminal. When you go to any kind of motor sports activity you are taking a risk of being killed or injured it's just the nature of the beast. To charge any driver in an accident  much less convict them is just plane wrong. If they are going to charge and convict anyone for this kind of thing it should be the people who allow and put on the race, it is there job to keep the spectators as safe as possible. Just my 

[unclejpl4x4]

Just read this waking up.  Sorry to hear about the loss of life and injured. but it is a racing event and its not uncommon for a truck to roll/crash  your standing on top of a hill or under it  dose not take a brain surgeon to figure out what can go wrong + it was night out .  They should of not  went after the driver.

   The way the article reads is just messed up ontop of that  putting all those other accidents in there.   

[hilux-1983]

Wow, http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38712114#38712114  Sad day indeed!!!

[79coyotefrg]

[46&2]

Sad that people were killed and injured, but to go after the driver is criminal. When you go to any kind of motor sports activity you are taking a risk of being killed or injured it's just the nature of the beast. To charge any driver in an accident  much less convict them is just plane wrong. If they are going to charge and convict anyone for this kind of thing it should be the people who allow and put on the race, it is there job to keep the spectators as safe as possible. Just my  

Just read this waking up.  Sorry to hear about the loss of life and injured. but it is a racing event and its not uncommon for a truck to roll/crash  your standing on top of a hill or under it  dose not take a brain surgeon to figure out what can go wrong + it was night out .  They should of not  went after the driver.

  The way the article reads is just messed up ontop of that  putting all those other accidents in there.  

I agree. I don't think anyone should be charged or convicted, driver or racing administration however. To be completely honest, It baffles me this doesn't happen more often. You won't find me standing 10 feet from the race track. Hell no.

My thoughts go out to everyone involved in this, including the driver. He has a very heavy burden to bear for the rest of his life.  

[Slolyfe]

It was serously a matter of time. Look at KOH, esp in slegde. I was amazed at how unsafe that looked and was amazed more people didnt get hurt or killed. Its very sad.

[iNfErNaL]

Sad that people were killed and injured, but to go after the driver is criminal. When you go to any kind of motor sports activity you are taking a risk of being killed or injured it's just the nature of the beast. To charge any driver in an accident  much less convict them is just plane wrong. If they are going to charge and convict anyone for this kind of thing it should be the people who allow and put on the race, it is there job to keep the spectators as safe as possible. Just my 

I agree with you 100%

[iNfErNaL]

 Here's a video of what happened :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uefB_DG3xnc      

[sweetmeat]

Very bad deal altogether for sure. The jump at the rockpile is a well known spot for alot of photographers and fans. People just seem to get to close to the course and this time it ended in tragedy. It happens in mexico ALL the time. They think it's cool to touch the cars as they come by. It's a shame to see people lose their life doing something they love. Best wishes to all involved

[b0x]

Sad indeed. Having been raised in Apple Valley, I grew up going to many on the races every year. Never once being that horrible of a time I can remember. Just a tragic unfortunate event.

[P-DiseToy24]

They go after the driver I will do everything I can to help him out.
I dont know him and I dont know exactly what happend but to me to chage the driver with ANYTHING is COMPLETLEY wrong. happens and my prayers go out to the familes and friends of the people involved in this tragic accident, but you cant go after the driver for what happend.  I mean the statment is correct people do stand feet away from trucks going well over 50mph and EVERYONE unless your down right brainless knows that its a risk, and sometime the unfortuonate happens but thats all part of any motorsport.  I strive to be a baja racer someday and it is my dream..... but after what I have read and heard about cituations like this it makes me not want to.  Something crazy happens, tire flys off, somthing breaks and you kill someone on ACCIDENT you have to be worried about your whole life changing because your going to prison...... not right in my book...      

[junya92toy]

They go after the driver I will do everything I can to help him out.
I dont know him and I dont know exactly what happend but to me to chage the driver with ANYTHING is COMPLETLEY wrong. happens and my prayers go out to the familes and friends of the people involved in this tragic accident, but you cant go after the driver for what happend.  I mean the statment is correct people do stand feet away from trucks going well over 50mph and EVERYONE unless your down right brainless knows that its a risk, and sometime the unfortuonate happens but thats all part of any motorsport.  I strive to be a baja racer someday and it is my dream..... but after what I have read and heard about cituations like this it makes me not want to.  Something crazy happens, tire flys off, somthing breaks and you kill someone on ACCIDENT you have to be worried about your whole life changing because your going to prison...... not right in my book...      

Not in this case, but even if you cause a accident, you still need to own up for it. You might not mean to run that red light but if you do and it causes a lose for someone else you gonna have to own up.

[sweetmeat]

Not in this case, but even if you cause a accident, you still need to own up for it. You might not mean to run that red light but if you do and it causes a lose for someone else you gonna have to own up.

On the street yes you are correct, but in desert racing it's in no way driver's fault. It's a sanctioned event. There are signs all over stating race in progress enter at your own risk. There are always lots of people but they know its a chance you take. Everybody understands that. In some cases we even have to sign a waiver. Desert racing is controlled chaos and sometimes accidents happen. It's just very unfortunate that spectaters were at the site of the accident. And that's exactly what it was an accident. Driver shouldn't and will not be charged with anything in this case unless he failed a breath analyser test. But i have been racing for years and have never seen a participant drink anything the day of the race. Spectators do and have the right to be anywhere on course as long as they stay off the course itself. In this instance they were technically off the course but extremely close to it. It's nobody's fault, fans wanted to be close to the action and unfortunately there was an accident. Driver was racing to beat other competitors can't fault him for trying to win a race.

[hilux-1983]

On the street yes you are correct, but in desert racing it's in no way driver's fault. It's a sanctioned event. There are signs all over stating race in progress enter at your own risk. There are always lots of people but they know its a chance you take. Everybody understands that. In some cases we even have to sign a waiver. Desert racing is controlled chaos and sometimes accidents happen. It's just very unfortunate that spectaters were at the site of the accident. And that's exactly what it was an accident. Driver shouldn't and will not be charged with anything in this case unless he failed a breath analyser test. But i have been racing for years and have never seen a participant drink anything the day of the race. Spectators do and have the right to be anywhere on course as long as they stay off the course itself. In this instance they were technically off the course but extremely close to it. It's nobody's fault, fans wanted to be close to the action and unfortunately there was an accident. Driver was racing to beat other competitors can't fault him for trying to win a race.

Well said!

[junya92toy]

On the street yes you are correct, but in desert racing it's in no way driver's fault. It's a sanctioned event. There are signs all over stating race in progress enter at your own risk. There are always lots of people but they know its a chance you take. Everybody understands that. In some cases we even have to sign a waiver. Desert racing is controlled chaos and sometimes accidents happen. It's just very unfortunate that spectaters were at the site of the accident. And that's exactly what it was an accident. Driver shouldn't and will not be charged with anything in this case unless he failed a breath analyser test. But i have been racing for years and have never seen a participant drink anything the day of the race. Spectators do and have the right to be anywhere on course as long as they stay off the course itself. In this instance they were technically off the course but extremely close to it. It's nobody's fault, fans wanted to be close to the action and unfortunately there was an accident. Driver was racing to beat other competitors can't fault him for trying to win a race.

I know how it works, just saying even if its a accident, sometimes in life you have to own up to it.

[Cheesemaker]

Its sad that it happened.  But watching that video, there was no buffer zone, incase something happens.  Period... 

Why should he claim to be at fault?  If the spectators had been farther back, and in a safe area, then people wouldn't have gotten hurt.  But the problem is, the fact that people are willing to blame somebody else, when it's their own dumb ignorance that gets them hurt.  Gee, you got a rig that is running anywhere from 50 to 100 miles an hour in the loose soil of the desert, where traction is very unpredictable, and you want to stand in the path of possible danger trying to get a better look.  You are taking your life in your own hands.

[junya92toy]

Its sad that it happened.  But watching that video, there was no buffer zone, incase something happens.  Period... 

Why should he claim to be at fault?  If the spectators had been farther back, and in a safe area, then people wouldn't have gotten hurt.  But the problem is, the fact that people are willing to blame somebody else, when it's their own dumb ignorance that gets them hurt.  Gee, you got a rig that is running anywhere from 50 to 100 miles an hour in the loose soil of the desert, where traction is very unpredictable, and you want to stand in the path of possible danger trying to get a better look.  You are taking your life in your own hands.

I NEVER SAID HE WAS AT FAULT PPL, IN THE FIRST QUOTE I DID I JUST TRIED TO POINT THAT JUST BECAUSE ITS A ACCIDENT DOES NOT MEAN YOU GET OUT OF IT FREE AND CLEAR ALL THE TIME.

[IronClad]

I NEVER SAID HE WAS AT FAULT PPL, IN THE FIRST QUOTE I DID I JUST TRIED TO POINT THAT JUST BECAUSE ITS A ACCIDENT DOES NOT MEAN YOU GET OUT OF IT FREE AND CLEAR ALL THE TIME.

Comparing an accident in the middle of a desert with people standing in the middle / on the very edge of a dust filled track with trucks whipping by at 80+ is in no where near the same context of someone running a red light.

Could it have been avoided ? Absolutely! but not by the driver, He's at a RACE doing his JOB. He's not leisurely driving down the street hitting a pothole and dropping his soda on his crotch and accidently running into someone.  He's trying to haul ass off road Between watching all his instruments, someone yapping into the radio in his helmet and making sure he doesnt fubar the truck. A person in the middle of the freakin' desert should be the least of his worries.

And if you see otherwise you're just as ignorant as the people trying to touch the truck/ dodge them in the middle of the track and whatever else.   If you want to see good dumbassary in a desert race go watch videos of Zoo road in mexico

[GrnMachine]

I NEVER SAID HE WAS AT FAULT PPL, IN THE FIRST QUOTE I DID I JUST TRIED TO POINT THAT JUST BECAUSE ITS A ACCIDENT DOES NOT MEAN YOU GET OUT OF IT FREE AND CLEAR ALL THE TIME.

In this case the driver should get off free and clear and he will because it is a sanctioned race, as would all drivers all the time given the same circumstance. As a fan you take the risk, as a driver you are not responsible for what fans do at the race.

[junya92toy]

READ what have I have saying, I said like 3 times not in this case. But my first post was about how someone said you might have to go prison because you caused a accident and thats not right. I was pointing out that even sometimes in life, even if you didnt mean to do it you still need to own up for the lose of whatever that is.

Plus in todays law there is no black and white anymore. There is a lot grey areas. The driver could win in a criminal court but lose in a civil. Sure he didnt mean to do it, and it was a offroad race. But no one made him drive that fast that close to people. A judge could argue that and make him pay for the lose of life and hospital bills. The judge could say, well you saw everyone standing that close and you were going that fast, you should of slowed down, you should of done this or that. Its a good reminder for all of us 4wheeling. You might see a group of people next to a trail, at a hill climb or something like that, and try to drive up it and roll your truck. It might kill someone, and you could be in the same situation. No you didnt mean to do it but you did and someone is dead or injured. Now they want to sue you. It could be manslaughter, negligent manslaughter or gross negligent manslaughter. It could just be a civil case, you have to pay for their care for the rest of your life.

[HDcruiser]

Here is some more info.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38721170/ns/us_news-life/
This tragic event will probably change off roading for SoCal. My prayers go out to the family's that lost loved ones.

[junya92toy]

If the drive signed anything with those rules followed on it, like driving 15mph when ppl are close, he could be looking at criminal charges.

[Early]

just a couple comments:

.super sad, impacts more people than imaginable :sad:

.adding that street racing story in the article is bull. complete different situation.

.i don't know this event but i have read the disclaimer on the back of tickets to events before, (dew tour, ski mountain), basically if you have this ticket you have the right to enter, and if you enter you give up some rights if something happens. (like if i break my leg at a ski mountain they are not liable, almost to the point that if i break my leg running into a snow machine parked on a blind hill.)


as for the sanctioning body, over crowding could be an issue. whenever i see a crash video at baja or something and people almost get hurt, they don't because the 4 people standing in a 10ft zone have the ability to move. when you get 30 people standing in a 10ft zone, ability to run, jump, dive, gets lessened

[sweetmeat]

If the drive signed anything with those rules followed on it, like driving 15mph when ppl are close, he could be looking at criminal charges.

He will not face any charges.

When you say he must own up to it, what exactly do you mean. Please amuse me?

[junya92toy]

He will not face any charges.

When you say he must own up to it, what exactly do you mean. Please amuse me?

re read what I have stated about four times.

And he wont? Says who? Civil or criminal?

[emsvitil]

With all the sue-happy people out there, owning up to it would be used against him in a civil suit...................

[sweetmeat]

Oh i have, but this always seems to pop up

I was pointing out that even sometimes in life, even if you didnt mean to do it you still need to own up for the lose of whatever that is.

And he wont? Says who? Civil or criminal?

Neither, it was a sanctioned event