Two men die in crash at Buttonwillow

[altiain]

Stolen from the pointy board:

Convertible sports car flips during midday drive-around in non-
racing event

By MARK BARNA, Californian staff writer


Posted: Sunday September 26th, 2004, 9:30 PM
Last Updated: Sunday September 26th, 2004, 9:42 PM

Two men were killed Sunday at Buttonwillow Raceway when their
convertible sports car overturned while motoring on the track during
a non-racing event.
The driver, Ronald Burnett, 46, of Cypress, died while being
transported by helicopter to Kern Medical Center, said Kelly Cowan,
deputy coroner of the Kern County Sheriff's Departm ent. The
passenger, Ronald Yates, 70, of Mohave Valley, Ariz., was pronounced
dead at the scene.
Both men were wearing a seat belt and helmet, Cowan said.
The accident occurred during a mid-day drive-around in which
visitors pay a fee to motor their cars on the Buttonwillow Raceway
track. Burnett was driving an Austin Healy, a convertible that
racers at the track said was a street vehicle with no roll bar or
other safety accouterments found on race cars.
Buttonwillow Raceway officials were not available late Sunday
afternoon for comment on the wreck.
Bakersfield residents Martin and Twila Willey, there to race their
Formula V car, were having lunch in the racers parking area when the
accident occurred. They were about a quarter-mile from the accident
site, which is near a remote stretch of track called Lost Hill,
known to racers as Magic Mountain.
"I just heard an ambulance and everyone started running," Twila
WIlley said.
After the rise and fall of Lost Hill, the track straightens out,
then is followed by a sharp C-turn called the Sweeper. It is this
general area where the accident occurred, Twila Willey said. Martin
Willey said he typically motors around the Sweeper at 70 mph in his
Formula V.
Willey said he feels safe on the track because his race car has roll
bars, and he wears a seat belt and a helmet. But he acknowledges
that things can go wrong quickly.
"It's a dangerous sport," he said.

[channelmaniac]

Ouch!

There's something to be said about having roll bars...

2 to 1 says they sustained severe neck injuries.

Raymond

[EvilSpeeder]

RIP

I might havt to put my hard dog on the credit card...don't want to wait any more....

[Kestrel]

I'm sorry for the guys that were killed.

I'd like to know what killed them. Was it an impact injury, or flying parts -- like glass or the convertible top's frame -- that got 'um? Lawyers, and the uneducated/uninitiated public will jump all over this one, and make some knee-jerk laws to stop such "dangerous activities" as open lapping, and motorsports.

[brock]

I'm sorry for the guys that were killed.

I'd like to know what killed them. Was it an impact injury, or flying parts -- like glass or the convertible top's frame -- that got 'um? Lawyers, and the uneducated/uninitiated public will jump all over this one, and make some knee-jerk laws to stop such "dangerous activities" as open lapping, and motorsports.

Judging from the length of this post I would say that it is safe to assume that someone remembered the NP this morning.

Unfortunately I think that you are right about the "dangerous activities" though. I would bet it is more likely a politician that will push this more than anything. I just have one thing to say about it though.

I DON'T NEED ANYONE SAVING ME FROM MYSELF!!!!!! If I choose to participate in this kind of activity, then I know what can happen and assume full responsibility if I do something stupid and get myself killed.

[Kestrel]

"...someone remembered the NP this morning."

Sorry, I don't know what NP is.

Don't read anything into my comment -- I'm just wondering what got them. In other words, people (posters on forums, lawyers sueing tracks, legislators adding more laws) will rush to the conclusion that "a rollbar would have saved 'um". That may -- or may not -- be true. I'm just wonder if that is true (impact / neck injuries), or not (cut / stabbed by stuff flying around). It gets to what the "real" dangers are out there, rather than simply assuming that a rollbar is the cure for everything...

[channelmaniac]

It's not the cure for everything but it is an OBVIOUS missing thing in a rollover type of crash... without anything but a seatback and a windshield pillar set to protect them a neck injury would be inevitable (excluding a miracle of some kind)

RJ

[general default]

I started to post this link over in the MSR IV thread. Here is a video of a Miata that rolls 5 times on track. Things can go wrong and they don't always have a simple ending. I sure hope the driver walked away.

[Kestrel]

"It's not the cure for everything but it is an OBVIOUS missing thing in a rollover type of crash... "

Well, a helmut is an "obvious missing thing" in a motorcycle accident, but we still allow motorcyclist the freedom to choose whether they wear one or not. Comments/positions like your's are the reason the "keep-everyone-safe-from-themselves, I-know-better-than-you" crowd keep heaping on more and more "safety features"... like the bomb in our steering wheels they call called air bags. Hopefully you are not suggesting that the guv'ment should mandate rollbars on all convertibles...

[channelmaniac]

Where do you get my comments equalling a government mandate? Are you some kind of talk radio jockey trying to pick a fight or something?

All I said was that a roll bar would have probably made a big difference in the outcome of the crash.

I've never been a big fan of someone telling me I have to do something. I believe in personal responsibility. I have the responsibility to protect myself and my passengers. This is why (if the event occurs) I will be bringing my 92 B&T to the MSR event instead of the 2003...

My 2003 does NOT have a rollbar... it has a style bar... My 92 does have a rollbar.

Of course I will wear my SA2000 rated helmet too.

RJ

[Kestrel]

"Where do you get my comments equalling a government mandate? Are you some kind of talk radio jockey trying to pick a fight or something?"

Nope, not trying to "pick a fight". I didn't say your comments equalled a government mandate. I merely said "Hopefully you are not suggesting that the guv'ment should mandate rollbars on all convertibles"... and apparently you weren't.

It was probably the word "obvious" in CAPS that made me mistakenly think that you were praising the virtues of rollbars, and implying that cars without rollbars are dangerous. Glad to find that I was mistaken in that impression...

[altiain]

OK guys - keep it civil in here, or I'm going to chain you all to a rollbar... together.

[channelmaniac]

HAHAHAHAHAHA

Sign us up for Anger Management!

Or at least an Effective Communications class

RJ

[Kestrel]

"OK guys - keep it civil in here..."

Aw, come on mommy... we was jist havin' sum fun...

[fwMiata]

RIP

I might havt to put my hard dog on the credit card...don't want to wait any more....

i did that...

[EvilSpeeder]

I started to post this link over in the MSR IV thread. Here is a video of a Miata that rolls 5 times on track. Things can go wrong and they don't always have a simple ending. I sure hope the driver walked away.

Wow, THAT is scary. Its hard to tell what caused it to get airborne. It definitely seemed to hit the other car sideways but I don't see how that flipped it. I sure would like to see after pics of it.