Tragedy struck at Silver Lake State Park in Michigan recently when a 33-year-old mother was hit and killed by a modified Jeep CJ which veered right into the family’s Wrangler. People are shocked at the death as the future of drag racing in the dunes seems uncertain.
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According to the Oceana Sheriff’s Department, the driver of that CJ lost control of the vehicle and it veered off course, right toward the young family as they watched the race. The mother was able to push her two-year-old out of the way right before the Jeep struck her.
The accident happened on May 26 during the busy Memorial Day weekend. First responders on the scene tried to keep her alive, but she succumbed to her injuries at the scene. Witnesses told NBC News everyone was in shock after the fatal crash.
Reports don’t name the 64-year-old driver but he apparently was cooperative with investigators, even providing a blood sample to be tested for intoxication.
Surprisingly, the sheriff told ABC 13 drag racing is relatively safe at the dunes. His deputies respond to quite a few accidents in the summer months, but most don’t involve the drag races.
That doesn’t mean drag racing will necessarily be tolerated in the future. Or that it will. With the investigation into what exactly went wrong, the future of drag racing in the state park seems to hang in the balance.
The law was changed a few years ago to make drag racing on the dunes legal, something the sheriff indicates might need to be reevaluated.
Finally, the sheriff had a great piece of advice we think applies to any area with sand dunes: stay in your vehicle. Since the nature of sand dunes encourages people to drive fast and do big jumps off the crests, being outside a vehicle with a safety cage is a tremendous risk.
Image via 13 On Your Side/YouTube
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