Texas drag racer slams into spectators – Authorities say a driver lost control during a drag race on an airport runway in Texas and slammed into a crowd of spectators, killing two children and injuring eight others.
A 6-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy were killed in the crash on Saturday afternoon at the Kerrville-Kerr County Airport during an event called “Airport Race Wars 2,” according to police. Thousands of people turned out for the organized event, which featured drivers racing down a runway for cash prizes.
Kerrville police said the driver “lost control and left the runway, crashing into parked vehicles and striking spectators who were watching the races.”
The injured were transported to various hospitals, including a 46-year-old woman in critical condition. The majority of the other injuries were not life-threatening, authorities said, though the condition of a 26-year-old man was unknown. A four-year-old boy and a three-month-old girl were taken to the hospital for precautionary checks.
The identities of the two children killed in the incident 60 miles (97 kilometers) northwest of San Antonio have not been released.
The event was advertised on the Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau’s website as a “action-packed, family-friendly day” where fans could watch the “fastest drag cars compete for over $8000 in total prizes.”
Upward of 3,500 people were in attendance, according to Louis Amestoy, a freelance journalist who was at the event.
The race was an eighth of a mile (0.2 kilometers) long, and water-filled plastic barriers lined the course. But Amestoy said they didn’t extend past the finish line, leaving no protection between spectators and cars as they were slowing down at the end of the race.
Spectators could get within about 15 feet (4.6 meters) of the track, and many watched the race from lawn chairs in the absence of stands. Organizers reminded people to stay in the grass and off the asphalt, Amestoy told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
The driver was nearing the end of the strip when the car veered off course, Amestoy said.
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Original Author: Associated Press
