Driver in California 200 crash says he is 'devastated'

The driver of a desert off-road vehicle that slammed into a crowd of spectators Saturday night, killing eight people, posted a message on Facebook late Sunday expressing his sadness over the tragedy.

Brett M. Sloppy, 28, was driving his modified 2000 Ford Ranger through the Mojave Desert at approximately 45 to 50 miles per hour when he lost control and collided with the spectators, authorities said.

“Soo incredibly lost and devistated my thoughts and prayers go out to all the familys and friends involved," the San Marcos resident said on his Facebook page late Sunday. "Thank you too all my friends for sticking with me even thru these tragic times I love you all.”

Also on Sunday, authorities said it appeared Sloppy's vehicle was equipped with a video camera. Investigators hope to review footage that may have been taken in the moments before and during the crash, California Highway Patrol Officer Joaquin Zubieta said.

On his MySpace page, Sloppy describes himself as single and working as a fabricater in San Marcos. The site includes numerous photographs of work he’s done on off-road vehicles:

“I CAN BUILD JUST ABOUT ANYTHING FOR A OFF ROAD VEHICLE...A FEW OF THE THINGS I BUILD HERE AT MISERY MOTORSPORTS ARE ROLL CAGE'S, BED CAGE'S, PRERUNNER BUMPER'S FRONT AND REAR LIGHT RACK'S, WELDING TABLE'S, BRACKETS FOR 4 LINK, 4 LINK KITS, I BEAMS AND RADIUS ARMS.”

-- Carla Rivera and David Zahniser

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Comments

[DG3]

Devistated? Shows his intelligence.

[Mike G.]

No mention of "never going to get into a race car again". And his incident doesn't speak very highly of his skills as a fabricator...A reminder to the wise who seek to modify their vehicles--don't hire somebody who has killed more than seven people....

[dee]

That was really sloppy driving. Prayers to the victims and the families.God Bless all.

[Carol Anne]

Why correct his spelling?

[Ralph E Mitchell]

How stupid can people be the rules "SAY" stay away up too 100 feet , Not 10 feet lets all think about this would you be that close too a car going down your street that fast no

[Bluejeans]

Terrible last name. Horrible, given the circumstances. Sympathies to all the families and friends of the victims. It sounds as though either the man or the machine was pushed too far. Poor judgment. Everyone involved with this race should shoulder equal responsibility.

[hi-lineman]

@ DG3 , Mike G, & dee

The spectators are at fault.... you ignorant fools.... People like you are the reason why we have the current President. Always expecting everyone else to take care of your uneducated mistakes.

[Mark]

Prayers go out to the families and the injured. Also to the driver who will be haunted by this the rest of his life. It seems that the track operators who failed to put safety measures in place should be held responsible for this. This is very dangerous spectator sport being that over 65 people have been killed or seriously injured in the last three years. I can't think of any other spectator sport that even comes close.

[William]

oops I've just murdered 8 people let me update my facebook now. Oh I'm devastated poor me. I hope this guy serves the rest of life in prison.

[Duel]

In as much as I hate the driver for doing this, this is still an accident and is 100% possible in any race. If you're watching 10 feet on from the track and not 100 as stated then, deadly consequences like this can happen. Remember Group B in rallying.

[Mark]

Lay off the guy, his punishment for being 'sloppy' will be living with the torment of replaying that in his mind over and over again for the rest of his life.

[TIM]

You know what, a race is when people take their modified vehicles out and drive them on the edge of out of control. You people are giving this guy a hard time when it could of happened to anyone of the drivers in that race. The drivers know the risk involved in racing as do the spectators lined up on the side of the track. It's all about the excitement you feel wether your in the vecicle or standing right next to it as it goes flying by. Equipment failures happen all the time, even at the pro level, thats part of racing. I hope this guy does get back in a race truck, it could of been anyone of those drivers out there.

[Fred Funk]

If the racers could use bigger areas to race in, then the spectators would have more areas to spectate in and would not be crammed into a small area.

As far as the Democrats (Envirowacko's) go...Maybe next time we could have the race course lined with them to provide padding for the rest of us.

Environmental impacts would be less noticed if they were spread out into outlying areas and not focused on the 100 damn acres we have left to recreate in.

[lanerd]

Yea , my condolances to the families of the victims and my prayers for the injured ! And to those who need to critique spelling and fabricating skills or driving skills all I have to say is get a life !

[NKH]

It was an accident people. Spectators choose to stand so close to the action. Nothing more nothing less, the driver and co-pilot of this truck never intended to hurt anyone. My heartfelt condolences go out to anyone that was affected by this accident in any way shape or form. Everyone; go give your loved ones a hug.

[sandywren]

I cannot imagine the sadness one would feel in this tragic accident, but clearly someone did not do their job in keeping the spectators safe. The mind set of these young people should not expose them to a high level of danger while watching, but with that said, let it be a lesson to the young that life regardless of how safe you can be in life, life changes on a dime, and you never know what you will be handed in life. Live your life with a clear conscious.

[Anne Bickham]

Shame on anyone who has criticisms for the driver, Mr Sloppy. Kicking someone down is as low as you can go. My prayers go out to all the victims which includes the driver. I pray for you Mr Sloppy. The crowd was too close and they knew they were in a dangerous spot.

[Liz]

It was tragic but the spectators shouldn't have been soo close. I just think it's wrong for everyone to be persecuting the guy. I'm sure he feels absolutely awful about the whole ordeal.

[Eve]

This is very sad. The spectators should never be THAT close to danger.
Ridiculous.

Carol Anne - it's called kicking s person while they're down.

[Nick]

again DUMB SPORT.

[Greg]

I spent years shooting off-road racing, SCORE, professionally. I saw the video footage and could not believe how close the spectators were standing to the track and race vehicles. The drivers were honking their horns as they went through. Unbelievable the spectators were that reckless and so, so unfortunate that a high price has been paid.

[Billy BuBB]

The driver is in a truck moving along at 50 MPH, on a dirt track, brakes are irrelevant. what is relevant is all these people tanked up on beer or wine that crowd the side of a track for point blank observation. The crowd is the ones that can decide for a safe viewing area, or a recklessly dangerous one. What happened here is someone did it to theirselves, not the truck driver.

Here, Dumont Dunes, Glamis, stupid people too close to the race track. 8 people, likelytanked, that will no longer be endangering innocent people on their way home.

[fredy g]

hes remorseful u idiots its not his fault the people where standing to fing close common sense tells me not to get close to a race with hills and turn where its highly likely a car will crash

[LA Doc]

Sloppy's spelling is as sloppy as his driving.

[eye finity printing]

my prayers to all the familes involved.