Yahoo Autos Two Dead After Trophy Truck Lunged Forward During Baja 1000 Contingency
Vehicles lined up Thursday afternoon to pass inspection before the start of the 57th running of the Baja 1000 when the driver of the No. 79 Jimco Trophy Truck out of Kansas City, Mo., accelerated and lunged forward, injuring four spectators, ultimately killing two.
The victims have been identified by San Diego's CBS 8 as Fred Goff James and Esteban Velásquez, both American citizens. The two men were transported to Velmar Hospital, a local private facility, and passed away due to injuries sustained by being crushed between two vehicles, Tijuna-based El Imparcial reported.
Score International will be hit with sanctions by both local and state authorities for not withholding the level of safety needed with spectators around the race vehicles.
Juan Tintos Funke, Score International General Manager, said that the accident was caused by the imprudence of the Buehler Offroad Motorsports member who was behind the wheel at the time of the incident. It's unclear why the driver accelerated unsafely during his slow row through the inspection line.
"The incident was due to the imprudence of a member of a competition team, which is why the vehicle was confiscated and the person responsible was arrested," Funke said in Spanish, CBS 8 translated. "We’re working to ensure that the injured receive all the necessary medical attention.
Spectator's involvement at desert rally contingencies has been a part of Baja since the beginning. It's the one chance that fans, competitors, and media can see all the vehicles together and intact before they get beat, battered, and spread out by the desert.
Like everything in motorsports, it comes with risks; fans often get too close to racing action at competitive rallies, and some have paid the ultimate price. But it is on the operators of the vehicles to do everything in their power to control the vehicles in crowded areas, it is still unclear why the driver accelerated when he did.
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