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Investigations Reveal Only One Ranger Present During California 200 Race Incident

On the night of the deadly California 200 race, there was just one Ranger within the area who the survivors had to rely on for emergency help.  The fact that there was just one Ranger in an area spread across more than 180,000 acres of land belonging to Bureau of Land Management, should alert California auto accident lawyers, and off-road racing enthusiasts to the dangers of allowing races to take place in conditions like these.

Soon after the truck rolled into the crowd, killing five people instantly and injuring several others, including three who later died, spectators flagged down the Ranger to tell them what happened.  The ranger was then able to respond to the situation, and offer help from nearby counties.  Emergency aircraft were dispatched to the scene from nearby areas, and emergency vehicles soon began to arrive at the scene.  However, all that meant that several crucial minutes had passed before the survivors were able to receive the emergency help they needed.  Off-road racing enthusiasts are wondering why there was such negligence during the California 200 race, considering that the Bureau of Land Management has no problem collecting fees for these races from race promoters.

People at the scene said that spectators were not restricted from being near the course, and in fact, some videos show the racing trucks speeding through the throngs of cheering spectators.  The driver of the pickup truck that was involved in the crash, has said that he raced across a downhill stretch and when he was touching down, he lost control and the truck tipped over onto its left and into a crowd of people.

It has taken legislators in the area eight fatalities and numerous injuries to wake up to the risks of holding off-road races in a manner like this.  Representative Jerry Lewis, Republican-Redlands, in whose jurisdiction the accident site falls, now says that it seems “mighty slim” you had just one Ranger on hand during an off-road race.  For now, everyone involved seems to be content with finger pointing.  The promoters of the race, Mojave Desert Racing refuse to comment on the accident.  Even Representative Jerry Lewis says that he needs to see a complete investigation report before he decides whether the Bureau of Land Management could have done more to prevent this accident.

The permits that Mojave Desert Racing had obtained for the race only estimate the size of the crowd at about 300.  However, the actual size of the crowd was in the thousands.  The permit clearly states that speeding cars cannot be driven less than 50 feet from pedestrian spectators.  That was not the case at all.  BLM now whines that it is not able to enforce its own rules as strongly as necessary.  If that’s the case, then perhaps the agency shouldn’t be allowing races to be conducted on its land at all.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of off-road accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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