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*NOTE ALTHOUGH IT WAS REPORTED BY ANOTHER NEWS SOURCE THAT THERE WAS CRITCAL INJURIES NONE WERE EVER LIFE THREATING*
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 3:08 AM
By Elizabeth Gibson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The 10 spectators taken to hospitals Saturday night after they were injured by a vehicle that broke through a barrier at the Columbus Motor Speedway have been released.
When two school buses hit a 4-foot-tall retention wall at 30 to 40 mph during the "Crash-A-Rama" bus race, it left a 5-foot-wide hole and showered the crowd with concrete.
Ten people, including six children, were sent to hospitals with cuts, bruises and sprained ankles from trying to get out of the way, but they all were released within a day. Two other spectators were injured but were not taken to the hospital.
Jonathon Poore, 14, who wound up in a neck brace, said he's already thinking about going back to the races Saturday.
"He wants to go back and I'll let him go back," said his mother, Becky Zubovic. "But I might suggest they not sit in the first row."
Poore said he doesn't really blame the racetrack and wants to go back to avoid developing a fear of it. Poore sprained his neck trying to get out of the way of debris.
"I was going to run," he said. "But it happened so fast that I couldn't move. I thought I was going to die."
Ticket stubs include a disclaimer warning guests that the speedway isn't liable for injuries, and co-owner Jeff Nuckles said the retention wall and catch fence did their jobs by keeping the vehicles and the bulk of the rubble from flying into the stands.
Crashes are part of the draw for many spectators, but crowd injuries are rare, Nuckles said.
The only spectator fatality in the 65-year history of the raceway happened in the 1960s, when a tire flew over a fence.
"This wall basically gets run into by some vehicle every event," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers go to the people injured, but we take safety pretty seriously here."
He said the bus races run in a figure-eight pattern to keep the vehicles from moving too fast and falling over, but the drivers' seats are secured for when that does happen.
A bus being driven by one of Nuckles' sons, an Ohio State University student, tipped and was safely turned right-side-up to rejoin the race shortly before the other vehicles crashed.
Nuckles said he is optimistic that the raceway will be repaired in time for races Saturday.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 3:08 AM
By Elizabeth Gibson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
The 10 spectators taken to hospitals Saturday night after they were injured by a vehicle that broke through a barrier at the Columbus Motor Speedway have been released.
When two school buses hit a 4-foot-tall retention wall at 30 to 40 mph during the "Crash-A-Rama" bus race, it left a 5-foot-wide hole and showered the crowd with concrete.
Ten people, including six children, were sent to hospitals with cuts, bruises and sprained ankles from trying to get out of the way, but they all were released within a day. Two other spectators were injured but were not taken to the hospital.
Jonathon Poore, 14, who wound up in a neck brace, said he's already thinking about going back to the races Saturday.
"He wants to go back and I'll let him go back," said his mother, Becky Zubovic. "But I might suggest they not sit in the first row."
Poore said he doesn't really blame the racetrack and wants to go back to avoid developing a fear of it. Poore sprained his neck trying to get out of the way of debris.
"I was going to run," he said. "But it happened so fast that I couldn't move. I thought I was going to die."
Ticket stubs include a disclaimer warning guests that the speedway isn't liable for injuries, and co-owner Jeff Nuckles said the retention wall and catch fence did their jobs by keeping the vehicles and the bulk of the rubble from flying into the stands.
Crashes are part of the draw for many spectators, but crowd injuries are rare, Nuckles said.
The only spectator fatality in the 65-year history of the raceway happened in the 1960s, when a tire flew over a fence.
"This wall basically gets run into by some vehicle every event," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers go to the people injured, but we take safety pretty seriously here."
He said the bus races run in a figure-eight pattern to keep the vehicles from moving too fast and falling over, but the drivers' seats are secured for when that does happen.
A bus being driven by one of Nuckles' sons, an Ohio State University student, tipped and was safely turned right-side-up to rejoin the race shortly before the other vehicles crashed.
Nuckles said he is optimistic that the raceway will be repaired in time for races Saturday.