A tragic reminder that our passion for cars can sometimes be very dangerous

As some of you know I brought my new to me m3 to a PCA driver education event this past weekend.  The event started out well for everyone involved.  Friday was an instructor school and two of my friends got their instructor ticket.  Saturday's sessions went smoothly despite the rain, I got five sessions in personally and really got acquainted with my new car.

Tragically during the blue run groups last session of the day a car went off at turn one.  I was in the paddock diagnosing a misfire when I noticed the sudden silence, which I knew was a bad sign.  A few minutes later the blue group cars pulled back into the paddock after the red flag shut down the session.

The track's ambulance was visible by turn one but no one knew what was going on.   As we were discussing the worsening scenario a police car arrived.  Not good.

Shortly thereafter a life flight helicopter arrowed in from the east.  It circled once and landed on the track near the damaged Porsche.  It was terrible not knowing what happened which let to rampant speculation. 

Was the car a blue solo driver or was there an instructor in the car as well?  As we all fretted over the goings on at the end of the track we collectively had a gut check moment, it could just have easily been any one of us.

In reply to pimpm3 :

Sadly that realization is one of the reasons I never pursued stage rally(money being the other), and while track events offer closer proximity to medical staff and facilities, as well as more on(off) course safety, there's still a big speed differential between the cars and stationary objects. 

The PA asked everyone not camping at the track to leave.  

We gathered our things and left not knowing exactly what happened but fearing the worst.

The hotel had a feeling similar to a funeral, no one was really discussing what happened but it was apparent what was on everyone's mind.

About nine o clock one of my friends got a call from another instructor.  The driver didn't make it and his instructor was in surgery after the life flight to the trauma center.

http://m.wtoc.com/wtoc/db/350145/content/TJ2WM1dn

Very sad news. Hope the instructor pulls through ok!

Wow. Sad to hear. :(

Wow, very sad!

The PCA group running the event was extremely professional and safety was emphasized at every point during the weekend.  It truly was a well run event but nothing can prevent all accidents from happening.

The driver possibly had a medical event going into the turn, or maybe the car had a catastrophic mechanical failure.  A witness said he never braked.

My prayers go out to the families involved and everyone who professionally rushed to their aid.  We all had a poignant reminder this weekend that our hobby is still dangerous despite our best efforts.  

Yep. The down side to this sport. You do this long enough and you are bound to be exposed to tragedy.

Sad day for sure. 

That's awful.  The only positive thing I can think of is that this kind of thing is thankfully rare.

My last hpde an instructor was killed in an off due to mechanical failure.  I couldn't stop thinking about my 5 month old at home.

I have never been back on track since.

Thats the reason i autocross now. Its a much lower assumption of risk.

My prayers are with both families tonight. 

Damn. 

Thoughts are with all involved and the families, I hope the instructor makes it through.

I would never instruct for this reason - getting into someone's car of indeterminate condition with a nut behind the wheel you can't know (or know the condition of their ticker, etc) - too much risk. I'm glad their are brave souls who will, so we can all enjoy it though.

Here's some interesting info related to on track deaths (though you can't compare club racing, which requires a racing license, to HPDEs, but interesting none the less).

http://www.sccaforums.com/forums/aft/6903

An interesting take on it:
"SCCA Club Racing
1989 through 2000
Deaths 16 
Less: **Deaths by Heart Attack (approximate) (6)**
Deaths by Accident 10 "

 

Going to toss out a thing here...

I am married to an ICU nurse. One of the things that I have had to learn to deal with is a regular diet of unfair events that end and destroy peoples life's.  Part of my job is to help her deal with these kinds of events on a regular basis.

You can't make sense of it, make it better or anything else.  Enjoy what you can for as long as you can.

Pete

Damn, sorry to hear that. Hope the instructor recovers well.

Nothing is w/o some kind of risk, even daily driving has become a crap shoot anymore.

I always felt safer on the track than I did on the general dumb public roads.

I'm sorry for the death of the driver. I hope that the instructor has a full recovery. 

Also, all of the people who were at the track that day have obviously been affected too. I hope for their recovery from this traumatic experience. 

In reply to NOHOME :

I have been a cop for a long time and have seen way more unfair events than I care to think about.  This one struck close to home given that it could have been me assigned to that guy. 

I have enough risk at work. It makes me wonder if it is worth the risk instructing.

I'm sad to hear of the passing of the driver, and pray that the instructor recovers fully.  Roebling was where I did my first (and only) track day, so it hits close to home. 

I was asked to instruct on track and discussed it with my wife. She asked me not to because of the risk. I know it's low all things considered, but it's real.

Well wishes to the instructor and to both families. 

Wow. I have good friend that instructs with that PCA group. I just checked in with him, he decided not to go this weekend.  Scary stuff.  We all know it, but it's hard when it actually happens.

I've been in two races where a person passed away. Both times ended up being cardiac events, but it was still terrifying and heart breaking. It really makes you think about your priorities in life. It also drives home the point that racing is a strenuous activity and that racers need to take their physical health seriously when looking at racing. Please for your own and your family's well being, if you have any questions about your health, get checked out and cleared by a doctor for racing. No, it is not an aerobic activity exactly, but it is very demanding and requires a lot of stamina when under stress and facing dehydration. It is not a Sunday drive. Please take it seriously!

Best wishes to the driver's family, and hopes and prayers to the instructor.

https://scontent-atl3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/27750113_10102700594194642_4086318919962846225_n.jpg?oh=e29cd2bde14730aab75caa622d57dfd8&oe=5B1A6F00

In reply to dculberson :

We have tracked heart rate while racing, and for Chrissy and I who are in good shape and work out regularly we have heart rates over 130 while racing.  I’ve had 4.5 hour driving shifts and having hydration and snacks made a big difference   It is more strenuous than most people realize  

Very sad.

I stopped instructing after being in the passenger seat when something awful like that happened. I was hurt badly enough to re-think the whole thing.

Nowadays, if I’m on track I’m either club racing or practicing. But always in a fully prepped car with cage, containment seats, head/neck restraints and everything else. 

I know a little about this situation. Very unfortunate. Am very sorry for the instructor and the families of both involved.  

Safety equipment, safety equipment, safety equipment. Autocross is enough for me right now. 

In reply to pimpm3 :

I did two days instructing at Xtreme Xperience in NOLA a couple years ago, it definitely wasn't worth the risk to continue doing it to me. 

The guy was 70.

I really hope the instructor pulls through - obviously.

I've always said that when I die I hope it's going into Turn 1 at age 70. I'd rather go out doing something I love than in any other way. I'm glad this guy took his Porsche out to have fun with it. He could very easily have had the same event happen on the road where an innocent bystander could have been hit, without medical/heli coverage.

I also will say that this is another reminder for why both drivers and instructors should push for as much safety gear as possible on track. At the Glen this past year a GT3 hit the wall in T1 so hard that one of the instructors (trauma surgeon) GOT OUT OF HIS CAR AND RAN TO THE SCENE (yes - all corner workers knew who he was).

Both driver and instructor were helicoptered out and survived. Car had a full race cage and halo seats, harnesses, HANS, etc.