California 200 race ends in tragedy as 8 people are killed

Eight people have been killed and twelve people were injured during the California 200 race, when one of the drivers lost control of his 4×4 vehicle and it careered into spectators, the night race is held near Lucerne Valley, 100 miles (160km) from Los Angeles. The driver of the 4×4 has been named as 28-year-old Brett Sloppy, who was reportedly unhurt in the accident, however he had to flee the scene to avoid an angry crowd.

Witnesses who saw the accident unfold said the accident left ‘bodies everywhere’. It was so quick that the victims had no time to save themselves after the truck became airborne and landed upside down on top of some spectators just after the start of the race. One of the witnesses who didn’t want to be named said: “When [the vehicle] came up, it like caught air and flew sideways, and I just saw people started scrambling at that point. As soon as it hit, it rolled right on top and it just hit people and people flew, went in all kinds of directions. People were scattering, people were running and trying to help people.”

Another witness, photographer David Conklin said the car sped over a jump known on the course as “the rockpile” and went out of sight. “I saw one woman with a major head wound lying in a pool of blood. Someone else was crushed beneath the car,” he said.

Because the race is held in such a remote spot it took rescue workers, police and ambulance teams more than half an hour to reach the site, which meant many of the spectators had to tend to the dying and wounded on their own. There were six people killed in the crash and then two more died after being airlifted to hospital as well as another twelve more being treated for their injuries.

The local Police have said that the driver Mr Sloppy would not be charged, Joaquin Zubieta, of the California Highway Patrol, said: “State vehicle laws did not apply because it was a sanctioned racing event held with the approval of the federal Bureau of Land Management.”

Picture courtesy of  PS-OV-ART Patty Sue O’Hair-Vicknair

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