Two men die in crash at Buttonwillow
Stolen from the pointy board:
Quote:
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.
