Charity Event Ends in Tragedy

By Pamela Mortimer

Six people were killed in Selmer, Tennessee on Saturday when a car careened into a crowd of unsuspecting spectators. Twenty others were injured. All were taken to hospitals in Tennessee and Mississippi.

It was during a charity event for "Cars for Kids" that Australian professional drag racer Troy Warren Critchley lost control of his car during an "exhibition burnout"—an event where racers heat up their tires and let them smoke—resulting in the fatalities. No criminal charges have been filed against Critchley, who suffered minor injuries.

The event showcased four professional drag-racers and each was supposed to do one "burnout" on the designated highway. Most drivers burn their tires for less than 50 feet and hit the brakes before the end of the guard rails, but Critchley surpassed that mark before losing control. Reportedly, there were guard rails along part of the staged course, but not in the area where the crash occurred.

Nick Staples, his wife and three children were standing 20 feet from the scene of the accident.

"There should have been guard rails," Staples said. "But even if there had been, it wouldn't have mattered."

One of the spectators, Matt Griffin, has been drag racing for five years. He agreed that drag racing on a city street was a "pretty stupid thing to do."

"There's a button inside the car that you hold down, and it holds the front tires down during a burnout," said Griffin. "If the throttle gets hung, or if your foot gets caught, then you'll take off and you wouldn't be able to stop.

Garett Moore, 19, was about 15 feet away from the wreck, but remained unharmed. "It ain't really safe to do anything with drag cars on a city street," he said. "They shouldn't have done it."

"Cars for Kids" founder Larry Price has been staging the charity event in Selmer for 18 years, which always includes the burnouts at the close of the parade. There had never been an accident at past events.

"We're not racing," Price said. "We're just doing little-old burnouts, revving the motors up, stuff like that."

Price, who founded the charity after his son’s near fatal bicycle accident in 1990, is responsible for organizing various nationwide events that raise approximately $200,000 annually for charities focused on helping children in need. In spite of the tragedy, Price hopes that the charity can continue.

A statement on the "Cars for Kids" website stated, "As an organization we want everyone to know the loss is deep within our hearts and we will carry the scars of each loss forever."