When I was a kid, I thought monster trucks were pretty neat - I would set up lines of my hot wheels and ramps for my brother to hop with his remote-controlled monster truck. All of that excitement wore off at about age 10. I'm not sure I could get interested in them now - the rallies seem like nothing more than a bunch of noise and silliness.
Still, my childhood affinity for monster trucks drew me into reading the following article. It would have been my dream to attend such an event at age 6 - and for a child to be killed at the event in Tacoma - his poor father.
link to full article:
http://www.komonews.com/news/37765479.html
Quote:
TACOMA, Wash. - A 6-year-old boy was killed and a man was hurt after they were hit by flying chunks of metal while watching a monster truck rally at the Tacoma Dome on Friday night, officials confirmed.
The Pierce County Medical Examiner identified the boy as Sabastian Hizey of Puyallup.
The gruesome accident happened just after 10 p.m. Friday during the Monster Jam, when an apparent mechanical malfunction in a truck's driveline, under the cab, caused metal fragments to spew out toward the crowd amid a burst of sparks.
Witnesses said the red truck was driving in circles, and a spray of metal pieces came off of the truck and flew over a safety barrier. The pieces knocked the man off of his feet and hit the boy in the head, causing them to bleed and creating a rather gruesome scene.
"It was just a horrendous scene," said witness Gabe Mausten. "It was very disturbing scene."
After the boy was hit, witnesses said a man in shock rose up from his seat and began yelling, "My kid is dead! My kid is dead!" The boy's father was not injured.
The boy and the injured man were treated at the scene and taken to an area hospital by ambulance, fire officials said. The boy later was declared dead by the Pierce County Medical Examiner's Office.
Witnesses said after the accident, people began leaving in droves but event organizers continued on with the show.
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What is your take on the incident? Or on these events in general. Have you been to a monster truck rally?
At first glance, I thought this was a freak accident, but as I read that the vehicle was taken out earlier for repairs, it makes me think that the mechanics could have been more thorough with repairs.