What was supposed to be an exciting and thrill seeking night for the annual California 200 off-road race, turned deadly in an instant as eight spectators were killed when a truck ran off course.
On Saturday night, hundreds of fans gathered around a 200-miles race course in Lucerne Valley to watch amateur off-road drivers compete. At the time of the accident, Brett M. Sloppy, 28-years-old of San Marcos, was driving around 45-50 mph. When he took a jump at a high speed, he hit his brakes upon landing his truck and rolled sideways into spectators. Sloppy was not injured in the accident, but the roll-over accident killed eight people and injured twelve.
There are no guard rails along the 50-mile track, and at any point you can almost touch the trucks as they race over the dessert sand. The night of the race tens of thousand of fans were spread out along the 50-mile track, but the sight of the crash, known as the "rockpile" is the most popular spot. At the rockpile, trucks become airborne enabling spectators to watch trucks fly over jumps at a very close proximity.
When Sloppy hit the jump near the rockpile he lost control of his vehicle. Six people died at the scene of the accident and two others died after being taken to a nearby hospital. The majority of the twelve people injured at the scene had to be airlifted to hospitals.
According to reports, it took rescue workers and paramedics nearly half an hour to reach the remote location, which is only accessible by a "rutted dirt road."
If you or someone you know has been injured or killed as the result of a trucking accident contact the Alabama Trucking Attorneys today for a free case evaluation. The Alabama Trucking Accident Lawyers at Farris, Riley & Pitt handle all types of personal injury cases ranging from basic auto accidents to victims of wrongful death. Call us toll free at 1-888-580-5176 or 204-324-1212.
