Off-road race crash kills 8

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Photos: California desert off-road race crash kills 8, August 2010.

Eight people were killed and 12 were injured at the California 200, a race in the Mojave Desert about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Hundreds of thrill-seeking fans watched in horror Saturday night as one racer took a jump at high speed, hit his brakes on landing and rolled his truck sideways into spectators, sending bodies flying on a section of track that had no guardrails or anything else to keep the crowd back.

California Highway Patrol officers examine the accident scene early Sunday morning. The CHP does not normally investigate crashes at organized events, but took the lead on this probe because of its scope. The federal Bureau of Land Management says the organizer of the off-road race in the California desert where eight people were killed was responsible for the safety of spectators at the event.

Workers push an overturned off-road race truck upright. Six people died at the scene and two others died after being taken to a hospital, authorities said. Most of the 12 injured people were airlifted to hospitals.

Debris litters the accident scene. Spectators said off-duty police and firefighters in the crowd joined paramedics hired by the race organizer to help the injured and place blankets over the dead.

Officials said Brett M. Sloppy, the driver, wasn't hurt. It was not clear why he lost control of the truck, a white modified Ford Ranger with "Misery Motorsports" painted on the doors. California Highway Patrol Officer Joaquin Zubieta said that alcohol was not a factor in the crash and there were no plans to arrest Sloppy.

Two people hug at the accident scene early Sunday morning. The driver "hit the rock and just lost control and tumbled," said one witness, who was standing next to the jump. "Bodies went everywhere."

The scene Sunday at the site of the California 200 appears calm, with little evidence of the previous night's tragedy. But a small cross and a circle of rocks were placed Sunday near the ruts in the ground left by the truck.

Suzanne Slater (left) hugs Niky Carmikle (right). Carmikle's boyfriend, 24-year-old Zachary Freeman of Ventura, was killed in the crash. "There's always that risk factor, but you just don't expect that it will happen to you," Carmikle said.

Randall Peterson of Fillmore, Calif., points to where the off-road race truck went out of control and ran into a crowd of spectators, including his stepson, Zachary Freeman.

Carmikle had gone to the bathroom when the crash happened. When she came back, Freeman and his best friend, 24-year-old Dustin Malson of Ventura, were dead. "Bodies all over the ground, people screaming, and all I wanted to do was find my boyfriend and my friends," Carmikle said.

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Eight people were killed and 12 were injured at the California 200, a race in the Mojave Desert about 100 miles northeast of Los Angeles. Hundreds of thrill-seeking fans watched in horror Saturday night as one racer took a jump at high speed, hit his brakes on landing and rolled his truck sideways into spectators, sending bodies flying on a section of track that had no guardrails or anything else to keep the crowd back.

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