ems

Two people were killed Thursday in a crash at California Speedway in Fontana.

A private car club was renting the speedway at the time of the crash.

A Porsche Carrera GT crashed into a retaining wall and came to rest on the track's infield. Authorities said two people were in the vehicle at the time of the crash.

One person was pronounced dead at the scene.

The second person in the car was transported by Mercy Air to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. That person later died.

The track is home to the California 500, Nextel Cup 500, the Toyota Indy 400 and other motorsport events. The 2-mile D-shaped oval surrounds an infield portion used for road courses and a 13-turn interior test circuit.

Private parties can rent the track to turn laps.

www.nbc4.tv/news/4562562/detail.html




truly a tragedy. the "shock value" of the car is so minimized when human lives are lost... Rest in Peace to them =/

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DEI37

That crash doesn't look that bad. I'm trying to figure out from those pics how the driver could have died, unless he was being stupid and not wearing a seatbelt. That must be a lot worse than it looks. Either way, it's sad to hear.

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ems

I can guarantee ejection

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ems

from VWvortex:

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Martian

Part of why it doesn't look so bad is the camera angle in those pictures. It looks like the initial collision was on the right side of the vehicle, you can see in the second and seventh picture that there's very little of the car left on that side. The car's practically torn apart, you can see in the first image that a lot of debris was thrown up over the barrier and in the seventh picture you can also see that the barrier itself sustained quite a bit of damage at the point of impact. It doesn't really matter what you're driving or even what you hit, if you're going 150 mph and have a collision your life expecancy from that point forward can be measured in seconds.

shakran

Remember Dale Earnhart's crash? That didn't look serious either - but if you hit the wall at the right angle and cause your head to shift forward on your neck, you die.

my question is, if they have room for that grass before the retaining wall, they have room for a kitty litter trap. Why doesn't the track have one?

Redlemon

Remember, the less damage to the car, the more force applied to the people inside the car. The reason cars crumple is to reduce force.

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Sage

Wow... I think this is a good lesson in "make sure you know exactly what you're doing when you're driving 150mph." I feel very sympathetic for the familes of the two people who died, but I imagine that they both died doing something they loved to do- otherwise why own a car like that?

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BadNick

My condolensces to the families of the unfortunate victims.

Not to shift blame in any way since if you're driving you are responsible and have to be in control, but that comment about the marshall telling the other car to exit from the pit lane reminds me of a couple experiences I've had over the years at such track sessions where the track-side workers were less than perfectly informed as to what's happening and what they should instruct the driver to do. Recently I found myself sitting in my car in a very risky situation and after sitting there for a few seconds and realizing the potential for trouble, threw it into reverse and backed out as fast as I could. The track marshalls never seemed to appreciated the situation and remained oblivious to the potential for trouble. The reason I recently posted about this accident on the car forum where I spend some time is to reinforce in my fellow enthusiasts that this is dangerous play and you have to be very vigilant at all times and even then, a tragedy can happen.

Cynthetiq

wow.

the world doesn't work like outrun where the occupants of the flipped over car get up and hop right back into their vehicle and continue racing.

sad.

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ems

This is from the Porsche Owners Club forum.

These guys were freinds of the victims and were at CA Speedway

http://www.porscheownersclub.org/mbo...id=844&posts=5

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catback

after reading the other forum I think the carrera driver, and the ferrari driver was at fault, perhaps even the marshall. To me they all acted wrongly, the carrera driver wasn't following track rules and was on the track when he should have gotten off the lap before. The ferrari driver was hesitant and thus endangered himself and then didn't follow the marshalls updated command. The marshall should have restricted the ferrari from ever leaving the pit with the carrera still on the track when it should have been off the track. Also the big one that gets me is the gt driver didn't know how to drive, he should have known to make all effort to stay off the grass ( a race car driver would have known that ). Goes to show, just because you can buy a race car doesn't mean you know how to drive one. All n all a very sad day full of mistakes that lead to two dead.

macmanmike6100

adventure comes with a price.

but very little beats high-speed driving.

Craven Morehead

Exactly right about the probably cause of death. Its called a basal skull fracture. Typically caused when the car comes to a complete halt abruptly. Causes the head to snap forward violently. If you want details of what happens next, Google it. Its instant death.

Fontana has a temporary infield road course. Few, if any of those type of courses have sand trap run offs.

All competitors in this type of affair sign documents releasing the track from any form of responsibility. If you don't sign, you don't get on the track.

shakran

Yeah, I didn't realize they were on an infield course. I'm used to running my car on the full road courses a few times a year, and those litter traps are very reassuring when I'm bombin' down toward a 90 degree corner at triple digit speeds

MSD

It looks like he took an extra lap that he wasn't supposed to, and the guy running things let another car out because he had assumed that the driver was back in.

From the Porsche owners' club:
and the news article:

In the first picture, despite the fact that the car did not flip, the large flat panel on the oppostie side of the wall appears to be part of the bottom of the car, just to give you an idea of the force of impact.

TM875

In all reality, we must realize that these men were not driving a NASCAR automobile, or even a safety-based production car (Volvo, etc.). When you hit a wall going above 100mph in a convertible sports car, you will die. Seatbelt or no seatbelt, helmet or no helmet, it's unsurvivable. The options are 1) The car doesn't crush and your internal organs are battered beyond belief or 2) The car does crush, but there isn't enough car to safely wrap around you.

I've always said that I want to die in a fashion so stellar that they post pictures on the internet of it. As sad as it is for these men's families, there's no doubt that this is the way I'd want to go. There is simply no better way to die than while doing something you love.

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kurtisj

car accidents always suck to here about, especially when they are at high speeds because basically someone is fuct.

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ems

The Carrera GT is a specialized machine made for even more intense driving than NASCAR and other sports

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stingc

Last I checked, Carrera GT's were not 800+ hp machines meant to go in circles at 200 mph almost continuously for hundreds of miles. In any case, no street car has anywhere near the safety equipment of a NASCAR or any other type of serious race car. It just isn't practical.

That said, I'm amazed at how much of this car is intact. At those speeds, though, your neck could snap, impact with the airbag can kill you, or the seatbelt could shatter your ribs (and without these things, you'd die from either being ejected or impaling yourself on the interior). Race cars constrain your neck, and have several padded harnesses that spread out the forces more than standard seat belts.