MDR Off Road Race Accident

JoeyD23

#utvunderground
Jan 9, 2009
18,569
1,368
113
44
North County San Diego
www.utvunderground.com

www.FAST-Aid.org

California 200 - FAST-Aid

PLEASE DONATE! $5, $10, $20, $100! IT ALL HELPS!!!!



A terrible accident occured tonight in Lucern at the MDR California 200 night race. A 1450 truck broke a tie rod or swing arm (unconfirmed) on a popular jump called the rock pile and lost control going into the crowd that was lining the course. Up to 8 people have been confirmed dead and numerous people injured. The race was called off. Reports continue to flow in via Race-Dezert, and DezertRangers. Names are floating around but are not being posted until families have been updated.

Say some prayers. We will be looking to the Underground for support in helping the families and victims effected by this horrific incident. UTVUnderground affiliate sponsor Fast-Aid will be working to set up a fund to accept donations.

More details to come.

UPDATED.......6:30pm

Dear UTVUnderground Members,

Last night at the MDR California 200 desert race in Lucern, CA a horrific and tragic event took place when a 1450 class race truck lost control and crashed into a crowd of off road fans/spectators. UTVUnderground.com and TKUnderground.com are working with our affiliate sponsor FAST-Aid - Home to raise money to help support those involved in this terrible incident. Please take the time to visit FAST-Aid - Home to make a donation to help. Any ammount can and will help. Lets show the public how strong our off road community really is.

If you have any questions feel free to reply to this email or visit http://www.utvunderground.com/f10/mdr-off-road-race-accident-4128.html


Regards,

Joseph "Joey D." DiGiovanni
[email protected]

FAST-Aid Opens Specific Account for MDR California 200 Accident

LINK: California 200 - FAST-Aid

MESA, AZ – AUGUST 15, 2010: FAST-Aid has opened a donation pool for the families of the casualties and the injured at the MDR California 200 off road race accident. FAST-Aid, similar in nature to the Red Cross, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial, educational and personal assistance to injured racers, support teams and their families as well as ensures the necessary support is in place to complete a thorough recovery and rehabilitation from motor sports racing incidents.

To donate specifically to help the California 200 casualties, please note “California 200†on your donation and 100% of the funds received will be applied to assisting their families in this difficult time. Donations are tax-deductible. Donations will be distributed to the families to assist with funeral plans and to the injured for recovery and job loss assistance.

President of FAST-Aid Jared Tetzlaff stated, "FAST-Aid has full faith in the California Highway Patrol to do a complete and thorough investigation of this accident. Our role is not to assign blame or liability, but is strictly to do everything we can to be there to assist the casualties and their families in the aftermath of this tragedy. The off-road community is a tight-knit family and the positive response from this group of people has been overwhelming and humbling. We will continue to coordinate all of our resources to help comfort and provide assistance to those involved."



About FAST-Aid - FAST-Aid has been helping the off road racing community since April 2009 and has been called to assist in many different circumstances. The board consists of nine racers, crew members, community and industry supporters. FAST-Aid a non-profit organization with the sole purpose of supplying financial and emotional assistance to off-roaders injured at racing events. FAST-Aid - Home


News outlets covering this story may contact [email protected] for more information. Fast-Aid is asking all news outlets to get this information out to the public who wish to make donations.
 
Last edited:

TURBO1330

Member
Aug 11, 2009
61
1
8
so cal
joey
was going to start the post but didnt when we got back my prayers go out to all.. bad night at the rockp..sucks all the first hand storys going on right now..
 

TURBO1330

Member
Aug 11, 2009
61
1
8
so cal
sucks is dont live to far from there they are fly people out helos got there at 830ish there landing at the er about 930 ..10 ish in he high dezert..lost in words on to say..
 
Last edited:

FabMan

Member
Jan 9, 2010
151
4
18
Leslie, Mo.
God bless the 8 that lost their lives in this horrible accident and the injured.

Everyone needs to realize this was just that, an accident. This is the last thing the driver of this truck wanted to happen. He will struggle dealing with this for the rest of his life also. I have never been fortunate enough to attend one of these desert style races living in Missouri, but have watched many on tv and video.

I will tell you this, I would never allow myself or my family to stand as close to a race vevicle at speed, as the spectators do at these races. I do not want to hear from the talking heads how we must end this type of racing because of what happened. It is up to us, to not place ourselves in danger. Everyday, we can & will encounter things that can hurt or kill us. That said, we cannot live in a glass bubble. We can only do our best to live our lives to the fullest, avoid the dangers that we can and go out of this life with guns a blazin'.
 

mosslager

STEEEEEEEEKERZ - UTVUnderground Approved
Nov 4, 2009
1,345
11
38
Just heard about this on the news. Very sad. My thought and prayers go out to these families.
 

Farmerdill

New Member
Jul 7, 2010
34
2
0
Too bad so many people making this more ugly than it already is.

Accidents happen; They always have and always will.

Terribly sorry for unfortunate loss.
 

RHINOdan

RHINOdonkey
Oct 11, 2009
1,060
2
0
39
WOW! I am speech-less! This is horrable news! Prayers go out to the friends and family to those who lost their lifes.
 

tatum

Hans Solo - 2009 UTV Baja 500 & 1000 Winner - UTVU
Feb 10, 2009
1,450
198
63
arizona
I actually saw this on Sportscenter this morning.
Prayers go out to the families.
 

waytay

Get Outta MY Waytay - UTVUnderground Approved
Jan 15, 2009
652
13
18
59
This is terrible. I wish all the families involved including the driver our prayers and thoughts. This is a terrible ACCIDENT!

However when we put ourselves in that position weather its at a off road race, the drags at any place ( pismo, glamis, buttercup etc..) Something is gonna happen. I am very uncomfortable watching young kids play in front of the sand cars at the drags half way down the runs. Someday this will occur somewhere else also. We all take calculated risk when we attend events and watch or drive in these events. So for the people who want to turn this into all racing is bad.....:mad:

The terrible part about this is it is going to affect greatly the ability for race promotors to put races on. People will sue and say everyone around did not do what they were supposed do. To keep everyone safe. Just like in real estate location location location. We all have to choose the safest positions when watching events.


To all involved my thoughts are with you and your families!!!!
 

Rusty5150

UTVUG PHOTOG
Jan 9, 2009
3,527
332
83
I have some friends injured and others that were killed. It's critical as a community we stick together.

The news is going to report garbage they are going to use words to make the story sound better. They are going to try and make our sport look bad. We all know when racing there is going to be risk. I thinks it is more dangerous to be a spectator than a competitor. Being a photo guy allows me to go places that a regular does not. Accidents happen, part failures happen.

God bless everyone involved and our prayers go out to those who lost thier lives doing what they loved.
 

Zerofield

Pit Junky - UTVUnderground Approved
Dec 13, 2009
169
1
0
Arizona
this is part of the risk you take when you go to any type of racing. I was at Firebird raceway this year(as every year since I've been born) when the tire came off the top fuel car and killed a lady. I was on the exact oppsite side of where the tire landed. Which makes you think that could have been me. Then there was time I almost got ran over by a tyrex in the pits at loorrs while working on it. Also have seen truck roll down a hill I've been up many times, and the driver got crushed by his own cage. They are accidents and they happen. We go to this types of events because we love them. The news can make it look bad, but there are so many great people and great things about offroad. I love this sport and will be at the next race I can make it to!

Everyone try to be safe out there!


God bless them all!!!
 

JoeyD23

#utvunderground
Jan 9, 2009
18,569
1,368
113
44
North County San Diego
www.utvunderground.com
We all know that this type of thing could happen and its the risk we all take when participating in off road events such as desert racing. I think we may very well be going through the darkest and most costly event that has ever happened in off road racing. We very well may be watching the demise of off road racing in Californaia.

We need to pull together here to support everyone who is involved. From the Driver to the victims to the orginization.

OUr affiliate sponsor www.Fast-Aid.org will be putting together a fund and we all need to do what little we can to contribute to this terrible incident that surely will and has ruined the lives of many.
 

JoeyD23

#utvunderground
Jan 9, 2009
18,569
1,368
113
44
North County San Diego
www.utvunderground.com
This is a posting from Yahoo Sports:

LOS ANGELES – An off-road truck plowed into a crowd and scattered “bodies everywhere” moments after sailing off a jump at a California race Saturday, killing eight people and leaving 12 injured, authorities and witnesses said.

The crash came shortly after the start of the 8 p.m. PDT race called the California 200, said San Bernardino County sheriff’s spokeswoman Cindy Bachman.

Bachman said eight people died and 12 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.

AdChoices
“There was dust everywhere, people screaming, people running,” David Conklin, a photographer covering the event for off-road magazines, told The Associated Press.

Conklin 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.

He said he watched the vehicle sail through the air. Then he turned to watch for other cars when he heard the commotion caused by the crash.

“When I got up to the vehicle I could tell that several people were trapped. There were just bodies everywhere,” he said. “One woman with a major head wound (was) lying in a pool of blood. Someone else was crushed beneath the car.”

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

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.

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.
 

JoeyD23

#utvunderground
Jan 9, 2009
18,569
1,368
113
44
North County San Diego
www.utvunderground.com
By GILLIAN FLACCUS and ANDREW DALTON, Associated Press Writer Gillian Flaccus And Andrew Dalton, Associated Press Writer – 5 mins ago
LUCERNE VALLEY, Calif. – Authorities say the eight dead in a grisly crash at an off-road race in the California desert include three men from the San Diego area and a woman from Las Vegas.

The San Bernardino County coroner Sunday released the names of seven of the dead.

Brian Wolfin and Anthony Sanchez of Escondido died at the scene, and Aaron Farkas of Escondido died at a hospital.

The youngest of the dead was 20-year-old Danica Frantzich from Las Vegas. All seven were in their 20s.

The other dead are Andrew Therrin of Riverside, Zachary Freeman of Fillmore and Dustin Malson of Ventura.

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

All died after a truck plowed into the crowd at the California 200 race near Lucerne Valley.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

LUCERNE VALLEY, Calif. (AP) — 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 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.

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

The crowd, which included children, 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 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 rails or any other safety guards at the 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."

March said "that's just how everyone plays it, everyone gets real close in these desert races."

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.

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.

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."


6 men, 1 woman among dead in California race crash - Yahoo! News
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
17,292
Messages
179,387
Members
12,145
Latest member
felipebenjamin000