As you may have heard, there was a dramatic 12 car crash on the last lap of the Nationwide 300 at the Dayton Speedway. This is not unusual. There is generally some kind of multiple car pileup in every race However, 28 spectators were injured, several seriously, as bits and pieces of metal, rubber, and a tire where hurled into the grandstands. Rookie Kyle Larsen’s car became airborne and pitched higher than the ten foot retaining fence that surrounds the track for the spectators’ safety. Pieces of the wrecked race car, including the tire, flew into the grandstands and hit the race fans sitting there. A shocked and shaken Larsen survived the crash with only minor injuries. Tony Stewart won the race but waived the victory lane celebration out of respect for the injured fans. There were no fatalities, fortunately. The worst spectator fatality incident occurred during the 1955 Le Mans 24 Hour Race. With 45 minutes left in the race, driver Pierre Levegh, driving a Mercedes Benz 300 SLR hit the rear of a smaller and slower Austin Healey and became airborne. The Mercedes hit an earthen embankment and disintegrated, causing pieces of metal debris to fly into the dense crowd. Eighty-three people were killed and 102 more were injured. There was a call for a worldwide ban on auto racing but more stringent safety rules were enacted and the sport continued.
During the 1987 Indy 500, a wheel from the wrecked car of Tony Bettenhausen flew into the stands and killed a spectator. During the 1931 Indy 500, driver Billy Arnold crashed and a wheel from his car hit 12-year-old Wilbur Brinks, who was playing in the front yard of his home which was across from the track. Brinks was killed instantly.
There is a risk of injury and even death at any public gathering. Seventy-four people were killed and 400 more injured in the 1963 Coliseum Disaster; during the recent State Fair Stage collapse while the Sugarland concert was in progress, eight people were killed. So it can’t be said that auto racing or any other sporting event is too dangerous for the crowds and should be banned. It can happen even in the most passive events. You can even slip in the puddle of a spilled drink and be crippled for life.
Twice, while I was watching the Indianapolis Indians play at old Bush Stadium, I saw a foul ball hit a fan in the grandstands. Of course, I have seen foul balls hit many times and certainly fans have been hit. However, during a 1992 game, a hard foul ball came rocketing in the stands and hit the face of a lady fan sitting about five rows in front of where my dad and I were sitting. She was taken to the hospital, her white sweat shirt was drenched with blood. We later learned that her nose and cheekbone were broken and she lost two teeth. That’s a heck of a price to pay for a day at the ballpark. A few years before that, my son and I were sitting in the stands along the third base line. A fellow was returning to his seat with an armload of snacks. A foul ball flew in, hit an empty seat and bounced up and then hit him in the eye. To his credit, he held on to his snacks. Despite the urging of several stadium staff members, he refused to go to the first aid station. However, towards the end of the game his eye had swollen shut and his companions dragged him off for treatment.
I would say just stay home and watch the event on TV. But while you are walking into the kitchen to get a snack you could slip on a throw rug and hit your head on the edge of the refrigerator or spill hot coffee on your lap or give yourself a heart attack while screaming your anger at the ineffective play of your favorite team. Life is a dangerous business, even for the spectator. Let the watcher beware.
snicewanger@yahoo.com