Five Mud Bog spectators injured when racer hits crowd

[355REDNECK]

http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front_page/article_ee21e132-c308-11e1-901a-001a4bcf887a.html
Colten Estes of Eau Claire had a front-row seat to the mud-racing accident that injured five people Saturday afternoon at Pioneer Park south of Eau Claire.

The driver, Richard Woodford of Augusta, left the mud pit, crossed a dirt berm and jumped a guardrail, Estes said.

"He just jumped right up," Estes said. "And there was a bunch of people right there."

The crash occurred at 12:40 p.m., just 40 minutes after the competition began.

Estes was seated on the spectator side of the mud-racing pit. Woodford's vehicle veered to the left and jumped the guardrail on the other side of the pit, an area primarily occupied by the competitors and their supporters.

Estes didn't think the accelerator got stuck on Woodford's vehicle.

"He lifted and then pressed again. It wasn't like it was stuck wide open," Estes said of the mud-racing vehicle's accelerator.

"Maybe he just panicked or something," Estes said of the driver.

Woodford "apparently somehow lost control, came over the guardrail and went into the crowd," Eau Claire County Sheriff's detective Allen Myren said.

Three men, ages 28, 42 and 59, a 22-year-old woman and a 6-year-old boy were injured in the accident.

Four of the injured parties were transported by ambulance to area hospitals. The fifth injured person was taken to the hospital by a family member.

The names of the injured people and the extent of their injuries were not released by the Sheriff's Department.

One of the men and the woman were pinned under the mud-racing vehicle, Myren said.

Sheriff's deputies and Township Fire Department personnel, who were already on the scene for the event, quickly responded to aid the victims.

A tow truck was used to help free the two pinned victims, Estes said.

"It was really scary seeing the little kid being pulled away," he said.

One of the men appeared to have a broken leg, Myren said.

Competition resumed about an hour after the incident occurred at the 17th Annual Pioneer Park Mud Racing & Tuff Truck event, which is part of the Central Mudracing Association circuit.

The races typically draw about 1,500 people to Pioneer Park, just south of Eau Claire on Highway 37 in the town of Brunswick. The event is a fundraiser for the Chippewa Valley Antique Engine and Model Club, which will hold its annual Pioneer Days at the park Aug. 10-12.

Club member Danielle Winrich said this is the second time in the 17-year history of the mud-racing event where a crash occurred.

In 2005, four people were hurt when a driver came out of the mud pit, hit the dirt berm and flipped into the crowd. The driver and two spectators in the back of a pickup truck were injured and taken by ambulance to a hospital. A fourth person suffered a knee injury and was treated on site.

Besides the dirt berm, the mud-racing pit is flanked by a guardrail and a fence beyond the guardrail.

"We've always taken a lot of safety precautions when it comes to the crowd," Winrich said.

[390JOE]

tragic event, glad everyone is ok.

[BAD APPLE]

dirt berms work as ramps, its best not to have one and just a tall gaurdrail

[85cHeavyMetalBogger]

dirt berms work as ramps, its best not to have one and just a tall gaurdrail

makes sense

[390JOE]

dirt berms work as ramps, its best not to have one and just a tall gaurdrail

or just a straight wall in the mud pit.

[bogger564]

sad to hear about stuff like that

[Jjay78]

glad everyone is ok