YELLOW TOAD
08-22-2005, 01:41 PM
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MOUNT VERNON, Illinois (AP) -- John Marks saw the race car drive off the dirt track and come flying into the bleachers, but he didn't have time to react.
A man and his daughter's boyfriend were killed when the race car flew into the stands at Mount Vernon Raceway in southern Illinois. Six others were injured, including the driver and Marks. Marks was taken to an area hospital and released.
"It happened so fast that I really can't remember anything," said Marks, 67, whose leg was pinned between the car's tire and the bleachers.
Witnesses said the car crushed spectators against the bleachers. A few people were trapped beneath the car.
"Something happened and the car got out of control," Marks said.
It could be weeks before authorities determine the cause of the accident, said Master Sgt. John Lewis of the Illinois State Police. No charges were filed Sunday, he said.
The dead were identified as Donald Roznowski, 51, and Jeff Conner, 18.
Roznowski was a maintenance supervisor for the local school district and a pit crew member for one of the drivers at the track. Conner had recently graduated from high school.
Conner had been dating Roznowski's 17-year-old daughter, Jami, for about three years, according to relatives. The two men often visited the track together, said one of Roznowski's three other daughters.
"They were good race buddies," said Roznowski's daughter, Elizabeth Roznowski, 25. "That was something they did together, that and sit and talk about racing."
State police were trying to determine what caused the car to shoot off the quarter-mile dirt oval track. It was the only vehicle on the track at the time. The driver was doing a qualification run.
The car's driver, Kevin Beatiee, 38, told police the car's throttle got stuck before the vehicle left the track. Lewis said. A crane removed the car from the stands Sunday.
The car's speed wasn't known, but it flew deep into the stands, said Capt. Conan King of the Jefferson County Fire Protection District.
"I believe there's about 25 rows of bleachers," he said. The car "landed probably two rows from the top."
Elizabeth Roznowski said her father liked to sit near the top of the bleachers -- when he wasn't on the track -- because it offered the best view.
The track, about 75 miles southeast of St. Louis, features late-model stock car races. Its owners expressed sympathy for the victims in a statement on the raceway's Web site Sunday.
"It is almost impossible to put our feelings into words, other than we are deeply sorry that this tragedy has occurred. It will change the way that we look at and remember racing forever," the statement said.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/22/raceway.deaths.ap/index.html
MOUNT VERNON, Illinois (AP) -- John Marks saw the race car drive off the dirt track and come flying into the bleachers, but he didn't have time to react.
A man and his daughter's boyfriend were killed when the race car flew into the stands at Mount Vernon Raceway in southern Illinois. Six others were injured, including the driver and Marks. Marks was taken to an area hospital and released.
"It happened so fast that I really can't remember anything," said Marks, 67, whose leg was pinned between the car's tire and the bleachers.
Witnesses said the car crushed spectators against the bleachers. A few people were trapped beneath the car.
"Something happened and the car got out of control," Marks said.
It could be weeks before authorities determine the cause of the accident, said Master Sgt. John Lewis of the Illinois State Police. No charges were filed Sunday, he said.
The dead were identified as Donald Roznowski, 51, and Jeff Conner, 18.
Roznowski was a maintenance supervisor for the local school district and a pit crew member for one of the drivers at the track. Conner had recently graduated from high school.
Conner had been dating Roznowski's 17-year-old daughter, Jami, for about three years, according to relatives. The two men often visited the track together, said one of Roznowski's three other daughters.
"They were good race buddies," said Roznowski's daughter, Elizabeth Roznowski, 25. "That was something they did together, that and sit and talk about racing."
State police were trying to determine what caused the car to shoot off the quarter-mile dirt oval track. It was the only vehicle on the track at the time. The driver was doing a qualification run.
The car's driver, Kevin Beatiee, 38, told police the car's throttle got stuck before the vehicle left the track. Lewis said. A crane removed the car from the stands Sunday.
The car's speed wasn't known, but it flew deep into the stands, said Capt. Conan King of the Jefferson County Fire Protection District.
"I believe there's about 25 rows of bleachers," he said. The car "landed probably two rows from the top."
Elizabeth Roznowski said her father liked to sit near the top of the bleachers -- when he wasn't on the track -- because it offered the best view.
The track, about 75 miles southeast of St. Louis, features late-model stock car races. Its owners expressed sympathy for the victims in a statement on the raceway's Web site Sunday.
"It is almost impossible to put our feelings into words, other than we are deeply sorry that this tragedy has occurred. It will change the way that we look at and remember racing forever," the statement said.
Copyright 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/08/22/raceway.deaths.ap/index.html