List of Indianapolis 500 fatal accidents
Drivers
Fourteen drivers have died as a result of racing in the "500". Ten races involved accidents claiming the lives of drivers.
- Thurman's car turned over on lap forty-four, and he was killed instantly. LeCocq's car similarly turned over on lap ninety-six, causing the fuel tank to rupture and burst into flames, killing LeCocq and his riding mechanic.[1]
- Weatherly was driving the same car Johnny Hannon had fatally crashed ten days earlier while testing. Moreover, in a practice run the throttle had stuck, forcing Weatherly to kill the engine to avoid another crash.[2] In lap 9 of the race, Weatherly went into and over the wall in turn four. He was already dead when rescue crews arrived. His riding mechanic was critically injured but survived.[3]
- Cantlon swerved to avoid Bill Holland's car, which had gone onto the inside grass and skidded back across the track.[4] Cantlon's car went into the outside wall, causing severe chest, leg and internal injuries. He died at the track hospital shortly afterward.[5] Holland went on to finish second.
- According to Donald Davidson, when Scarborough pulled into the pits, smoke or a small fire may have broken out on the car, wherein crews quickly doused with fire extinguishers. In the process, Scarborough may have inhaled CO2, which may have contributed to, or been the actual cause of death.
- Coming out of turn 4 on lap 2, MacDonald spun and crashed into the inside wall. The car exploded and went back onto the track, into the path of oncoming traffic. Sachs hit MacDonald's car, and his car caught fire as well. Sachs was killed instantly of injuries and severe burns. MacDonald was declared dead a short time after in the infield hospital.
- 1973
- Swede Savage (died in hospital July 2, death may have been from contaminated blood transfusion rather than directly from the crash)[7]
Drivers killed during testing, practice or qualifications
- 1913
- 1926
- 1931
- 1932
- 1933
- 1934
- 1935
- 1940
- 1948
- 1949
- 1953
- 1955
- 1957
- 1959
- 1961
- 1966
- 1968
- 1972
- 1973
- 1982
- 1992
- 1996
- 1909
- Wilfred Bourque (During a race in August before the creation of the 500)
- also killed was Bourque's riding mechanic, Harry Holcomb. Another riding mechanic, Claude Kellum, would die later the same day in a car driven by Charlie Merz.
- 1910
- 2003
- Tony Renna (Firestone private testing session in October)
- 2010
- Lenz, 13, was run over by a motorcycle ridden by Xavier Zayat, 12, who fell as a result. This incident led to controversy at the Speedway regarding minimum ages to compete at the track. [9]
Crew
Riding mechanics killed in the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race
Riding mechanics killed in practice
- 1931
- 1932
- Harry Cox (Benny Benefield, driver)
- 1933
- Bob Hurst (William Denver, driver)
- 1934
- 1935
- 1937
- 1939
Track personnel killed in Race
- 1937
- George Warford (firefighter); Indianapolis, Indiana
- Otto Rhode (pit crew member), Toledo, Ohio.
- 1961
- John Masariu (firefighter); Danville, Indiana - On the 127th lap of the 1961 race, driver Eddie Johnson spun out, but did not suffer significant damage and he was not injured. A safety fire truck went to his aid. Masariu, who was a basketball coach at nearby Ben Davis High School and was serving as a safety worker, fell off the back of the fire truck. A moment later, the truck accidentally backed over him, and he was injured fatally.
- 1973
- Armando Teran (pit crew member); Santa Monica, California - Teran was the pit board sign man for Graham McRae. Just moments prior, McRae's teammate Swede Savage suffered a terrible crash in turn 4. Teran started sprinting up the pit lane. At the same time, a fire truck was signaled to head to the scene. Cleon Reynolds, the Chief of the Speedway Fire Department, signaled for fire/safety truck driver Jerry Flake to proceed northbound up the pit lane to the crash scene. Flake was stationed at the south end of the pits. Flake, driving northbound, struck Teran and tossed his body about 50 feet. Teran suffered crushed ribs and a broken skull, and was pronounced dead at 4:23 p.m. The incident was witnessed by thousands of spectators, as it occurred on the pit lane right at the start/finish line. It was erroneously reported by media that Flake was driving the wrong way, and was at fault; at the time, safety trucks were permitted to drive in the opposite direction of the racing cars. The following year, USAC prohibited safety trucks from driving in the opposite direction.[10]
Spectators
Spectators killed at the Race
- 1909
- 1923
- Bert Shoup; Lafayette, Indiana
- 1938
- 1960
- Fred Linder; Indianapolis, Indiana (homemade scaffolding in the infield collapsed)
- William Craig, Zionsville, Indiana (homemade scaffolding in the infield collapsed)
- 1987
- Lyle Kurtenbach; Rothschild, Wisconsin (Tony Bettenhausen lost a wheel in the third turn. Moments later, Roberto Guerrero hit the tire with his nose cone, and the tire was launched into the air. The tire went over the catch fence, and into the top row of the "K" grandstand, striking and killing Kurtenbach instantly. The resulting damage to Guerrero's car, a broken nosecone and more importantly, a broken clutch master cylinder, directly led to Guerrero losing the race. His car became stuck in gear, and stalled exiting the pits on his final pit stop.)
Others
- 1931
- Wilbur Brink - Brink was a 12-year old boy playing in his yard across the street from the track. As the result of an accident during the race, a wheel from the car of Billy Arnold bounced over the fence and struck him, killing him instantly.[11]
External links
References
- ^ 3 DIE IN AUTO RACE AT INDIANAPOLIS New York Times, June 1st, 1919.
- ^ Hannon's 'Death Car' almost hits wall again Associated Press, as reported in The Milwaukee Journal, May 28, 1935. From Google News, retrieved September 4th, 2011
- ^ Daring Petillo Wins Auto Race Associated Press, as reported in the Spokane Daily Chronicle, May 31st, 1935. From Google News, retrieved September 4th, 2011
- ^ Mauri Rose wins 500-mile race, $25,800 check by Ed Sainsbury, United Press, as printed in the Middlesboro Daily News, May 31, 1947. Retrieved from Google News September 2nd, 2011
- ^ Mauri Rose wins big Auto Race, Driver Killed by Dale Burgess, Associated Press, as printed in the The Meriden Daily Journal, May 31, 1947. Retrieved from Google News September 2nd, 2011
- ^ HEAT KILLS DRIVER; Scarborough Dies After Vukovich Auto Takes Indianapolis 500, by Frank Blunk New York Times, May 31st, 1953, page S1.
- ^ Dr. Stephen Olvey, "Rapid Response", 2006, page 35
- ^ Dan Wheldon 2011 [1] Daily Trackside Report, Red Bull Indianapolis Grand Prix
- ^ Racin' Today
- ^ Dorson, Ron (1974). Indy 500 An American Institution Under Fire. Bond/Parkhurst Books. pp. 200–201. ISBN 0-87880-025-5.
- ^ Autocourse Official History of the Indianapolis 500 By Donald Davidson, Rick Shaffer. MBI Publishing, 2006. Retrieved from Google Books.
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