New Jersey Police Findings concerning Kalitta accident

[Gordon]

Re: Post Crash Analysis from Scott Kalitta Report

#2-No-50 things went wrong at the same time. Take away just 1 of those 50 and things might be different.

After reading the NJSP report, I conclude that this is the correct answer.

Prior to Scott's death a lot of folks really enjoyed ESPN's camera shutdown area camera angle. Remember watching Kurt Johnson scream into the sand and take out one of their stationary cameras? Sure, it wasn't 23,000 lbs, but it was there. So ESPN decides to give us that angle from an elevated camera - who would've thought a race car would ever get to a position to hit an elevated camera... much less get airborne enough to clear the retaining wall and hit the boom it was attached too. Are we going to ask ESPN to remove the camera booms from the starting line now in case we ever have a repeat of Shelly Howard incident.

This was a freak accident, nothing more, nothing less... and God determined it was Scott's time. May Scott rest in God's peace.

 

[megadeth]

All those local tax dollars to point out the obvious!
What a joke! That was a terrible day, we lost one of the good guy's, RIP Scott.

 

[Bobby]

The .00 policy is unrealistic. You could live your entire life without consuming a single adult beverage. Pop a Certs breath mint into your mouth, suck on it until its gone, then blow into a Breathalyzer. You will not blow a .00. In fact it wouldn't be unlikely you'd blow a .02

A blood analysis is more accurate, but still flawed in that at that level, what you ate for dinner the night before could still register a reading above .00

I bet most people don't know that. I didn't . Thanks Bob.

 

[jpee]

All those local tax dollars to point out the obvious!
What a joke! That was a terrible day, we lost one of the good guy's, RIP Scott.

Bob I think you are wrong.. when I was on the Stamford Ct. PD they sent me to Northwestern University (Six Months, & I got paid etc..that cost the city 1/2 of what I made in 1 yr) for Fatal Accident Investigation & Reconstruction..

All those questions (i.e. blood alcohol etc.) ARE required to be completed by the investigating officer.. Each state has its own rules & regulations...

Yes NJ spent a lot of $$ investigating that accident, but you can bet your life what you read is the EXACT TRUTH and not doctored or influenced by people in high places.... Do you think NHRA would have been as honest if THEY did the investigation & do you "REALLY THINK NHRA has the ABILITY to do an in-depth accident investigation like the one NJSP provided..

As Joe Friday used to say on Dragnet TV Show.. they (NJSP) gave us

"The Facts, Just The Facts!" You would have never gotten that from NHRA ..

Its sad but we (the fans) know more about this accident which occurred a few months ago than we know about Darrell Russell that happened a few yeas ago... NHRA never gave us The Facts like the NJSP DID

I think ALL states should have a law like NJ to have the State Police investigate ALL Fatal Accidents weather on the street or racetrack!

 

[nick name]

...If you want to be protected from ideas which may offend you , may I suggest you turn off your TV and shutdown your computer.

That's insulting. Where did I say I wanted to be protected from anything? I'm just asking for people here to show an iota of class and discretion. You, apparently are of the mindset that enjoys reading lurid details about baby daddies and mommies in the Enquirer. I suppose there is a group of people still eagerly awaiting the next installment in the Faces of Death series.

When you are driving a race car , which places you, and everyone around you , in some level of danger, you don't have any right to privacy. If you are taking a drug , any drug, it is everyone else's business.

Sorry, but you could not be more wrong. The authorities have the right to address or control mind altering and/or illegal compounds. If you think the unwashed masses have any right to know what's in a driver's medicine cabinet, I suggest you read up on HIPAA. Congress decided the information was such that hospitals must keep it private, but you think webzines have a right to print it?

The main problem here was the ESPN truck. Along with the pole, the curved wall, the general setup of the shutdown area.

I don't see Scott's physical reactions included in your list. So why is it so crucial for people to gossip and speculate about what might have been seen in a blood assay?

Just my opinion, please don't get too upset about it Dan.

And this message is simply my opinion also. I'm not upset in any way, Bob, just disgusted at the scabpickers.

I read and hear things that piss me off every night on cable 'news', it's part of life in this 'connected' world of ours.

I'm not as sheltered as you might believe as I see the same things. However, I'm not ready to accept boorishness and bad taste as "just one of those things". I'll speak out when I see it, but am totally aware that I may be in the minority.

 

[.]

This might be a stupid question, but how did the engine continue to provide power once it had failed (exploded)?
Does anyone know what exactly failed in the engine?

Jerry Newman (member here) posted a few days after the accident that the #3 intake port exploded. He also posted that part of the manifold around the front burst panel blew out and the engine was sucking in and running on the engine oil. He got that info from Glenn Mikres, Scott's crewchief.

 

[PJ]

not doubting anything in the report. Just wondering how could they determine the braking pattern as they mentioned. With a couple hundreds of passes made it seems like a hard thing to do. Espcially on a track with marks all over it. On a regular road there are mininal brake marks at any one palce making it easier to reconstruct such an event.

Also if the engine was still providing power and the braking was inconsisitant at best, how in the world was that much speed knocked off?


In the end I suppose the questions and answers don't really matter, we lost one of the best on that fateful day.

I had already seen and heard most of the items in the report but I am glad that the information is out there for those that wish to read it. Maybe NHRA will see that the world doesn't end if information is shared.

 

[megadeth]

Bob I think you are wrong.. when I was on the Stamford Ct. PD they sent me to Northwestern University (Six Months, & I got paid etc..that cost the city 1/2 of what I made in 1 yr) for Fatal Accident Investigation & Reconstruction..

All those questions (i.e. blood alcohol etc.) ARE required to be completed by the investigating officer.. Each state has its own rules & regulations...

Yes NJ spent a lot of $$ investigating that accident, but you can bet your life what you read is the EXACT TRUTH and not doctored or influenced by people in high places.... Do you think NHRA would have been as honest if THEY did the investigation & do you "REALLY THINK NHRA has the ABILITY to do an in-depth accident investigation like the one NJSP provided..

As Joe Friday used to say on Dragnet TV Show.. they (NJSP) gave us

"The Facts, Just The Facts!" You would have never gotten that from NHRA ..

Its sad but we (the fans) know more about this accident which occurred a few months ago than we know about Darrell Russell that happened a few yeas ago... NHRA never gave us The Facts like the NJSP DID

I think ALL states should have a law like NJ to have the State Police investigate ALL Fatal Accidents weather on the street or racetrack!

We pretty much seen what happen. Catastrophic mechanical failure gee you think!
Although the investgation pointed out the obvious, I really didn't change the fact that one of my favorite drivers is gone.
I wonder were is the report on Darrell Russell ?

 

[Wes]

Since the NJSP governs motor racing in the Garden State they are required by law to investigate fatal accidents and issue public reports. Illinois has no such procedure so any official investigation is not required to be public record...so no such report will ever exist for DR's incident.

NHRA has been doing blood-alcohol tests en-masse this weekend in Ennis.

 

[.]

NHRA has been doing blood-alcohol tests en-masse this weekend in Ennis.

Maybe I should start a new thread to ask this question but I'll ask it here anyway.

Can you elaborate a little more on this comment please?

It's not that I think testing a racer is wrong, I've just never heard of it happening in the past at NHRA national events. Is this something new? If this is normal than I'll admit, it's news to me.

Are they testing Pros, sportsman, or both?

Just curious.

 

[CDR]

NHRA has been doing blood-alcohol tests en-masse this weekend in Ennis.

Big freakin deal .. as already stated Scott's BAC level had nothing to do with his death.

 

[PJ]

Big freakin deal .. as already stated Scott's BAC level had nothing to do with his death.

There have been rumors of some past issues so why not test to prevent or dispell anything.

 

[CDR]

Rumors of what? Drinking a few beers the night before a race? You cannot tell me that's what killed the man.

 

[PJ]

Rumors of what? Drinking a few beers the night before a race? You cannot tell me that's what killed the man.

no no wasn't talking about in realtion to Scott at all

If they're testing drivers is that really a bad thing? Probably no big deal

 

[Wes]

We will never, ever know what-if any-effect a .02 BAC had on Scott's passing. Let's get that perfectly straight.

However, we live in an incredibly litigious society. Hence the drug and alcohol policy outlined in the NHRA Rulebook. We were graced with these regualtions after the Darrell Alderman cocaine issue. There was never any proof or even the suggestion that he had ever raced under the influence. But, since the situation COULD have occured, the corporate attorneys for NHRA made haste and adopted the same drug/alcohol policy that can be found in the NHL, MLB, NFL, and other sporting organizations. It's all about liability and accountability and protection from a jury trial.

Given the recent events and published findings, NHRA is in that bad spot where they must show they are taking steps to eliminate the possibility of a racer being in violation of the drug/alcohol policy. If they didn't, a snake-in-the-mud attorney could have an open door to develop a class-action suit. Thus the testing going on at Ennis.

I will say this...I have personally witnessed drivers operating a racing vehicle mere minutes after ingesting alcoholic beverages. Happens more than you really want to know at the local tracks on the weekends...and, yes, even at national and divisional events. Admittedly I have probably been in violation of the policy while racing with the flu. Nyquil has enough alcohol content to register more than .02!

After the NHRA adopted a drug/alcohol policy they performed random tests at national events. It went on for a few years. In the beginning there were casualties of the rules. But after a while everyone seemed to be passing. So, like the muffler rule, they stopped testing with regularity once they assumed uniform adherance was taking place. With the publishing of the NJSP report, NHRA has no choice but to resume drug/alcohol testing.

For drivers the solution should be crystal clear. Don't drink until you are completely and totally done driving your race vehicle for the weekend...PERIOD.

 

[CDR]

I will say this...I have personally witnessed drivers operating a racing vehicle mere minutes after ingesting alcoholic beverages. Happens more than you really want to know at the local tracks on the weekends...and, yes, even at national and divisional events.

Wes, with all due respect, I understand what you're saying. It happens at our local tracks here, also.

In this situtation, to imply that a PROFESSIONAL race car driver was drinking or drunk, while racing at 300+ MPH is insane.

As was stated it was a one in one million chain of bad events, initiated by catastrophic engine failure. Engine failure was just the begining, not to mention the things downtrack that shouldn't have been there. You saw the photo of him reaching for the chutes. The handle was gone because the body was leaving the chassis. Fuel shutoff? I've never driven one, but last I heard it was on the left. Would it matter? No. The car was still running (as already stated). Like I said bad chain of events.

 

[Lori]

How are the blood alcohol tests being run? Are they having everyone pee in a cup or are they doing blood draws? Just curious.

 

[TJ]

The drivers are picked at random and a UA is the norm...

 

[Pete]

along the same note a Scott's entrance into the pit, last year (2007) at the divisional, Craig English hit the trap in his TAFC at what was easily 125mph, no chutes. He ended up vaulting and clearing EVERYTHING down there after hitting a pylon (sp) and landed 150-200' off to the left after the end of the trap and was eventually medivacted to the hospital where he recovered. Looks like that friggin boom truck was the sole culprit in Scotts untimely death. Last time I checked 150-200 G's was a lot. If Scott weighed 200lbs, then he hit with 4000 times his body weight....thats sick!

I simply tip my cap to NHRA for designing a sand trap (i.e., Indy) and hopefully making that the regulation for all NHRA tracks in the future.

 

[TJ]

The boom truck was not the culprit to the blunt force trauma as the pole that held the net was......and the BAC cleares the NHRA for any liability.
I have a friend who is a specialist in the DUI dept for the Boise City Police and I mentined to him the .02 BAC and how the results were recovered via blood, and he said that indicated alcohol was in his system...and not from the previous evening...more like the same day.