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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Driver in California 200 crash says he is 'devastated'

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Comments

[Mars]

Hey PERFECT ones try not to be so JUDGEMENTAL and IGNORANT!! Instead of trashing the driver go find your Dictionary and look up the defination of ACCIDENT. This poor individual has to live with this the rest of his life he does not deserve your B.S. May God Bless everyone involved including you!

[ds]

the driver is not to blame. it was a complete accident. u think he did it on purpose. he will for ever be haunted with this. this wouldnt be a big deal if it happend on city streets because people are used to it. would any of you stand ten feet from the freeway. you would if their were races going on. dont blame any one for this devastating accident. if you dont know the sport dont chime in.

[cheryle nolan]

first off, Sloppy is a nickname, as for his spelling, he just ran over eight people, killed them, and injured more, do you think he is a little upset?? He most likely can't spell his own name right. Can you give him a break??? He has to live with this the rest of his life, this isn't the way he thought his Sat. night would turn out. Have you ever been to one of those races, they stand on the track waiting for the next truck to come by!!! and no, I'm not blaming the victims, this is a tragic accident!!

[Bob]

They forgot to mention the spectators were ONLY 10 feet from where the trucks were racing. Waaaayyyy too close to the track.

[jesse]

ram thru thousands of people? thousands? orly

[Travis]

The rules state you must be a 100 feet back from the track its not the drivers fault at all like most of you are making it out to be. The race trucks are built to take a beating but like everything sh#$t breaks if PEOPLE would fallow the rules and stay back from the track LIKE THE RULES STATE then this wouldn't happen. I've been to the MDR races I stay way back throws cars and trucks can get up to 100 mph and stuff can break or a tire goes flat, it wasnt sloppy driving its a offroad race in the dirt over big ass whoops and jumps. If people would fallow the rules then this wouldn't of happened. It sucks and i feel bad for the people who lost loved ones and friends but rules are rule fallow them.

[WESLEY HOAGLAND]

people don't stop and think about it in the driver view . people come to these races to watch driving 2 to 3 hrs and when they get there there NO fences just open desert so in no way anyone could control a spectator on open land , most of these people come out and know the spot where there are big jumps or high speed areas .Standing ON the track just get a look or a pic of a truck going 100milles hr towards them .so being a driver is very hard not knowing if over the next jump someone is standing there on the track . I see lot of people pointing and not knowing the true facts. from what i See the truck isnt off the course in fact maybe people where standing on the course and the driver had no where to go .

I feel for all that had lost there life and for the ones that where hurt . people blame BEER and what not ,witch is wrong on so many parts ,

It was strait disregard of there own safety

[carouser]

The controversy now lies in whose responsibility it was to have a safe track for both drivers and spectators.

The Bureau of Land Management has released a statement; explained that safety was the responsibility of the race organizer, Mojave Desert Racing, out of South El Monte, California.  According to Mojave Desert Racing’s permit, it states that the drivers can only travel 15 mph or less when within 50 feet of the spectators, and there can be no more than 300 spectators at the event. Responsibility should fall on all parties involved, both the BLM and the MDR. When you have innocent spectators’ bodies launching onto the track as a speeding truck hits them; it’s no time to point fingers.

http://scallywagandvagabond.com/2010/08/mojave-desert-car-race-kills-8-spectators/

[John]

The driver is not who is responsible it is the promoters who put on the race. Look at other motor sports NASCAR, NHRA, IHRA, Indy and most local tracks they erect barriers, fences to protect the spectators. You cannot blame the spectators for being too close, by not having barriers erected the promoters are saying "we do not need barriers because this is a safe race". I will guarantee these promoters will never put on a another race, will be court for a long time, and the BLM will shut down all motor races on government land.

[Diana]

My heart goes out to you and what you must be feeling, such a tragic accident.

[DGE]

Accountability for your ctions, if you're going to stand 10' from a race course you are asking for trouble, if you are going to stand 10' from the course downhill from a jump, guess what you are in DANGER, you can't fix stupid and all these stupid people need others to control them because they can't think for themselves, if you are a spectator at an off road race, check it out get away from the course their are trucks flying by. As for those that lost their lives my deepest condolences and for the driver of the truck, my heart breaks for you and what you must be going through and what is yet to come.

[steve]

Those people were way too close for vehicles coming off a jump. Even if there were no jump, they are too close for comfort. Too bad bad things must happen before we start fixing them. You can blame the driver all you want, but this is a race and to win these races you must push it.................all's he was doing was racing, he shouldn't have to worry about people being in the way. My prayers go out the families of the victims and to the driver.

[Disturbed]

it saddens me that people are fast to blame the driver when bottom line is it was a horrible accident, if anyone is to blame it's the people who have to have the rush of putting them selves so close to the action, at any given time a mechanical failure can occur rendering even the worlds best drivers out of control, imagine you are driving in you're car and you have a mechanical failure and lose control of your vehicle and cause a wreck that takes others lives, how would you feel if people turned on you and wrote terrible things about you, when the bottom line it was just a terrible accident.

[C Wicked]

People who know nothing of the sport should not make snap judgments or opinions without first educating themselves. Spectators have a PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY to themselves to not be in harms way. If you choose to ignore signs, warnings, barriers or your own common sense who's fault is that?! The very simple fact remains that had the spectators not been in a restricted area and so close to the course (their own decision) the truck would have rolled into empty space. It was not like he was the first truck through the area, he was approximately the 20-25th vehicle. This was an accident, not an intentional act.

As for the insensitive 'people' (though I use the word loosely) who must think it is absolutely hilarious to joke about or bash a guy on spelling or updated his personal page, his last name or his driving I say, Get a Life! Sloppy is going through a personal hell that no one here could even fathom. A simple update is quite easier than fielding hundreds of text messages, emails, etc he was receiving during all of this.

The Off-Road Community is united in supporting Sloppy and his Co-Driver through this as well as the families affected.

[David B TDR]

The spectators gathered at that location were there to witness an accident or some type of incident. They all were aware of the nature of the event and at this location a high-speed section of the course and that it had the possibility of an incident accruing there. The spectators at such events have to “assumes the risk” of attending.
The closer the spectators are to the action the greater the risk. Therefore these spectators ware assuming the greater risk accompanying their actions.

[David B TDR]

While this is a horrific tragedy that as accrued I hope we can all take a lesson away from for the results.
It would be a bigger tragedy to leave this event with no lessons learned.

Posted by: 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" .......
Fact is the driver was never in the wrong why should he give up racing because of the lack of respect given from the spectators. Lets face facts. The spectators each weigh in around the 170# to 250# range the race truck in race mode upwards of 3500 # spectators standing or fleeing 0 - 20 mph truck going 45-55 mph who is lacking respect. Think about it those people should have used better judgement.

As for his fabrication skills they seam to have been put to the test. The objective of the roll cage has never been to protect spectators. The bumper is not to protect spectators. The light bar, bedcage or the other things mentioned in the article none of which are designed to protect anyone other then the occupants of the vehicle they are mounted on therefore we must conclude that since the driver did survive the accident his fabrication skills must be adequate.

[Ellie]

Bottom line...it was Mr. Sloppy's foot on the accelerator. No one had a gun to his head making him drive that fast near children. It was his choice. To say anything else is to be codependent with an irresponsible man who, out of all of the other irresponsible men, was also not a very good driver. He really needs to think hard an long before he again travels 50mph within inches of an all-volunteer, human guard rail on an outside curve.

[LiveEveryDay2The Fullest]

Good point Ellie. After reading all the comments and thinking about how this happened I believe it is EVERYONE who is at fault. The driver should have slowed down after seeing the spectators so close, the spectators should have given enough room for these drivers to race which they came to watch and support, and the organizers should have enforced the boundaries. Anyways, we are human and we will make mistakes. I'm confident that we will learn from these mistakes and try our best not to let it happen again. Just keep in mind that it will never be 100% perfect. See you souls on the other side, we'll all be there eventually. I'm happy to at least experience all the joys and pains of life.