Corey Scott

Corey Scott
Scott attempting the fatal motorcycle jump at the Miami Orange Bowl
Born	Corey L. Scott (1968-12-28)December 28, 1968 Decatur, Indiana, U.S.
Died	February 8, 1997(1997-02-08) (aged 28) Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, Florida, U.S.
Cause of death	Motorcycle accident
Resting place	Decatur, Indiana, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Motorcycle stunt rider
Known for	Motorcycle stunts

Corey L. Scott (December 28, 1968 – February 8, 1997)^[1] was an American stunt performer and professional motorcycle stunt rider. Scott died during a live stunt in front of a crowd of around 30,000 spectators at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami, Florida, while attempting to perform a dangerous step-up jump on a motorcycle. The fatal accident was captured on camera.^[2]

Career

Scott was born in Decatur, Indiana and became interested in motorcycle stunt riding at age 15. His father died on January 8, 1987, when Scott was eighteen-years-old. That same year in 1987, Scott graduated from high school and moved to Florida. He then began performing with the Joie Chitwood Chevy Thunder Show, which he continued to work with for several years. He performed in over 2,000 shows with the Chitwood organization. He specialized in wheelies, the motorcycle-car precision driving exhibition and the motorcycle-pick up jump, where he jumped over a moving truck with a ramp attached to the back of it.

Scott later left Chitwood and formed his own independent company called Scott's Super Stunts. In 1995, Scott won a ramp-to-ramp jump competition in Charlotte, North Carolina. The competition aired on ESPN. He later took a break from stunts after suffering a head injury shortly after the competition. In 1996, he went back to stunt performing.^[3]

Death

On the night of Saturday, February 8, 1997, Scott was performing at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami, Florida at a U.S. Hot Rod Monster Jam. A packed crowd full of around 30,000 excited spectators watched Scott attempt a dangerous step-up jump. Scott drove up a steep ramp on his motorcycle and was supposed to land into a net that was hoisted high into the air. Scott jumped over 70 feet (21 m) high on his motorcycle.^[4] He was meant to grab the net upon hitting it, but he missed, bounced out, and fell to the flat ground below. He landed on his head, broke his neck, and suffered other serious head and chest injuries. Scott was rushed to the Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.^[5] The shocking fatality was witnessed by thousands and was caught on camera by people filming in the crowd. Scott had performed the stunt four times before with no problem. He was twenty-eight-years-old at the time of his death.^[6]

Aftermath

Many of the spectators in the crowd had been young children and they were deeply traumatized by witnessing the graphic death of Scott live. Parents reacted angrily and were hostile toward the organizers of the event.^[7] The promoters were blamed, and the death was reported as being totally avoidable and absolutely unnecessary. Many complained that the promoters should not have allowed Scott to attempt the jump without a simple safety net to catch him if something went wrong. Footage of the fatal stunt was all caught on video camera by people in the crowd filming the exhibition.^[8] The footage has been shown on television documentaries as well as the 1998 shockumentary film, Banned from Television. It was also shown in the Banned! In America shockumentary film series.

In 2008, the Orange Bowl stadium, where Scott performed the fatal motorcycle stunt, was completely demolished. The site is now occupied by Marlins Park, the home of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball.

See also

• Butch Laswell
• List of deaths by motorcycle crash

References