T1B

By the CNN Wire Staff
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
NEW: The driver says he is devastated by the crash
A truck crash at an off-road desert race in Southern California leaves eight dead
Spectator who filmed the crash says, "It's forever going to be in my head"
Crowd at these events can be hard to control, some say


(CNN) -- The driver of a truck that crashed into a crowd of spectators, killing eight, said in a Facebook message that he was devastated by the incident.

The California Highway Patrol identified the driver as Brett Sloppy. Authorities said Sloppy is not facing any charges in the crash that took place Saturday at an off-road race in Southern California's Mojave Desert.

"Soo incredibly lost and devistated [sic] my thoughts and prayers go out to all the familys and friends involved," the San Marcos resident said on his Facebook page late Sunday. "Thank you too all my friends for sticking with me even thru these tragic times I love you all."

In addition to the deaths, four people were taken to hospitals by air in serious condition. Five others suffered minor to moderate injuries.

The 200-mile race was part of an amateur series on a course in the Lucerne Valley area of San Bernardino County, east of Los Angeles, said Tim Franke of the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Vince Dimiao, a driver who was running just ahead of the truck that crashed, said the races often take place at night due to the extreme heat. He said officials initially halted the race for an hour due to the crash, then canceled it completely when the scope of the carnage became known.

The race's sanctioning body, Mojave Desert Racing, urges spectators to stay back 100 feet from the 50-mile course.

"But as you can tell, there are no delineations to where the track begins and where the track ends at this point," said Joaquin Zubieta, a California Highway Patrol spokesman.

Dimiao said there are few restrictions for spectators.

Larry Webster, automotive editor for Popular Mechanics magazine, said few such races remain "precisely for this problem."

"It's just very difficult to control the spectators," Webster said. "You can give all the warnings you want, but at the end of the day, they're out there, they're on their own and they do what they want."

But Rich Minga, a former off-road racing champ, defended the sport Sunday.

"This sport's been safe throughout the years," he said. "We have a wonderful track record -- it's been a great, great form of family entertainment."

Minga called it "quite shocking" at how close the spectators at the Lucerne Valley race were to the course but acknowledged that fans frequently gather at points "where the cars might be apt to do something more exciting."

Minga said he supported an investigation "so we could put more safety measures and keep it a little bit safer."

Jonathan Davy, who attended Saturday's deadly race and captured the accident on video, said he sensed the danger even before the crash.

"They have barricades up ... to hold the fans back and the spectators, and it still doesn't control the situation with the fans because they want to get as close as possible to what's going on," Davy said. "It's really intense -- everybody's going, 'Go faster, go faster, go faster!' and a lot of people hit these jumps and get air and everyone cheers and it's just crazy."

"Even for me to be right there filming was very dumb," he said. " was just in the moment."

Davy said the event was his first off-road race.

"What seemed to be like a great day ... something I had never been to before, just turned tragic," he said. "It's forever going to be in my head. I couldn't sleep last night. I got chills right now just thinking about it."

Diego in Seattle wrote:I'm really suprised something like this hasn't happened at one of the Baja races.

Papa Willie wrote:I'd say now would be a good time for the federal government to come in and ban this sport.

Federal agency to probe deadly accident at California 200
The Bureau of Land Management, which owns the land where the race was held, is looking into whether the promoter, Mojave Desert Racing of El Monte, adhered to safety rules set forth in its contract.
By Phil Willon, Los Angeles Times

9:11 PM PDT, August 16, 2010

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In company safety rules, the promoter of the California 200 off-road race where eight spectators died says that fans must stay at least 100 feet away from the course. But videos of Saturday's crash and the promoter's other races show crowds regularly lining the track, just feet away from speeding off-roaders.

Mojave Desert Racing of El Monte also failed to adhere to a requirement in its contract with the Bureau of Land Management to keep spectators 50 feet away from the racing vehicles. The firm did not return calls seeking comment.

The federal agency Monday said it had launched an "official national review" of the accident and BLM safety policies for permitted off-road races on federal land under its jurisdiction. Along with the current investigation by the California Highway Patrol, federal law enforcement investigators will join the inquiry, said Jan Bedrosian, BLM's spokeswoman in California.

Eight spectators were killed and 10 seriously injured when driver Brett Sloppy of San Marcos lost control of his modified Ford Ranger pickup after going airborne on a crowd-pleasing hill known as the "rock pile." The truck rolled into the crowd, which had crept within a few feet of the track, just minutes after the race began.

An off-road promoter not involved in the California 200 race said the spectators never should have been allowed to be that close and that the organizer of the race should have known the potential for disaster.

"It's an extreme sport, so people want to get close. But people gravitating to a corner? Dude, are you kidding me? Why don't you just let your kid play on the freeway,'' said Don Wall, president of Snore Racing in Las Vegas. "I would have stopped the race."
Wall said at his off-road races, including the Battle of Primm in Nevada and the Midnight Special in Ridgecrest, his crew puts up fences, posts do-not-enter signs and in some cases installs K-rail to keep crowds away from hazardous spots on the course. He also tries to funnel crowds to straight-aways, where crashes are less likely.

"You have to do that. But even then, people will drive through a fence to get to an area," Wall said. "People just believe on public land, it's mine, I'll do what I want. No. There are rules, and why do we have rules? Because people will get wiped off the face of the planet."

Mojave Desert Racing in its BLM permit stated that it had two men responsible for coordinating a response to a medical emergency. Yet when contacted by The Times, one of those officials said he was not assigned to any emergency or medical tasks at Saturday's race.

Permit documents identified Arcadia resident Dave Hatcher, a self-described volunteer for Mojave Desert Racing, as one of two contacts in case of a medical emergency at the race. Hatcher said he had filled such a role at previous events but was responsible Saturday for managing a 30-mile race checkpoint.

"I didn't remember that I was listed on there," Hatcher said when asked about the permit.

The other Mojave Desert Racing official listed as an emergency response contact on the permit was Jim Williams of MDR Productions. He could not be reached for comment.

Patricia Williams, the primary contact for MDR Productions on the federal permit, would not comment when approached by a reporter for The Times on the night of the race. Officials at the company did not respond to repeated telephone calls and e-mails seeking comment Sunday and Monday.

Videos shot of previous MDR races, posted on youtube.com and other websites, show off-road racers flying by spectators standing within feet of the course. A video shot of the California 200 in 2008 near the site of Saturday's deadly crash showed fans were kept away from the track by plastic fences.

No fences were put up for this year's race, law enforcement authorities and fans said.

MDR Productions paid the Bureau of Land Management a $95 fee to stage the race on federal land, plus $5 for each participating competitor. The promoter's permit allowed for 200 to 300 spectators, although participants and fans at the event said there were more than 1,000 people who had come to watch the race.

One of the stipulations that Mojave Desert Racing agreed to was to restrict spectator access to areas near speeding racers: "All persons involved in, and all spectators of, this event are to travel 15 mph, or less, when passing within 50 feet of any social group, picnic area or camping area."

The truck that crashed into the crowd appeared to come to rest less than 10 feet from the dirt course.

The deadly crash at the California 200 race was inside the Johnson Valley Off-Highway Vehicle Area, a state-run recreation area about 60 miles northeast of Riverside, and just off California 247.

In 2001, Mojave Desert Racing was sued by a racing team member who was injured during a race it sponsored near Barstow. The man, Craig Diller, suffered a heart attack, broken leg and shoulder when he was hit by an off-road racer. Diller had fallen onto the course when his motorcycle crashed, but he argued that the track was not properly marked and no safety precautions had been taken.

"In our case there wasn't even a clear designation as to what was racetrack and what wasn't," said his attorney, Steven Sweat of Beverly Hills. "Obviously it's an off-road race, it's a fairly informal affair, but you should have some bare safety in place so that this doesn't happen."

Sloppy, the driver of the truck that crashed Saturday in Lucerne Valley, was questioned by investigators and released. He will not be charged. There were no signs of alcohol or drugs being a factor in the crash. CHP officials are trying to determine if there was any mechanical malfunction, however.

On Monday, the Riverside County coroner's office released the name of the only unidentified spectator killed as Michael James Dickinson, 34, who lived in San Diego County.

On Sunday, the San Bernardino County coroner's office identified the other seven killed as Zachary Freeman, 24, of Ventura; Brian Wolfin, 27, of Escondido; Anthony Sanchez, 23, of Escondido; Aaron Farkas, 25, of Escondido; Andrew Therrin, 22, of Riverside; Dustin C. Malson, 24, of Ventura; and Danica Frantzich, 20, of Las Vegas

Dr. Frank Ryan, plastic surgeon to Heidi Montag and other celebrities, was sending a Twitter message about his border collie just before his fatal car accident, his ex-girlfriend tells PEOPLE.

"He lived up in Malibu on a tiny street and he was texting while driving and he accidentally went over the cliff," Charmaine Blake says.

Screw_Michigan wrote:Rack Chuck D:

Dr. Frank Ryan, plastic surgeon to Heidi Montag and other celebrities, was sending a Twitter message about his border collie just before his fatal car accident, his ex-girlfriend tells PEOPLE.

"He lived up in Malibu on a tiny street and he was texting while driving and he accidentally went over the cliff," Charmaine Blake says.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/celebri ... tml?hpt=T2

smackaholic wrote:

Screw_Michigan wrote:Rack Chuck D:

Dr. Frank Ryan, plastic surgeon to Heidi Montag and other celebrities, was sending a Twitter message about his border collie just before his fatal car accident, his ex-girlfriend tells PEOPLE.

"He lived up in Malibu on a tiny street and he was texting while driving and he accidentally went over the cliff," Charmaine Blake says.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/celebri ... tml?hpt=T2

rack hairpin turns and twitter!

According to his website, Ryan graduated from the University of Michigan in 1982

Screw_Michigan wrote:

According to his website, Ryan graduated from the University of Michigan in 1982

RACK CHUCK D!!!!

smackaholic wrote:no one's death should be celebrated based on their alma mater....

Screw_Michigan wrote:I just thought it was appropriate some U-M dumbfuck would be thinking "it could never happen to me, I'll just crank out a tweet right now about my fucking dog while driving...WHOOOPS!"

Dinsdale wrote:

smackaholic wrote:no one's death should be celebrated based on their alma mater....

Ted Bundy was a Husky.

(Motto of both Duck and Wazzu fans)