- Cars for Kids has staged a charity car show for 18 years in this small town, and the drivers always do crowd-pleasing burnouts - spinning the tires to make them heat up and smoke - at the end of the parade.There had never been an accident until this weekend, when pro drag racer Troy Warren Critchley lost control of his car and six people lost their lives.
Amateur video of the crash, broadcast on WMC-TV in Memphis, showed the car's engine revving loudly before the vehicle sped down the highway. After a few hundred feet, the smoking car skidded off the road and into the crowd.
Cars for Kids holds several events throughout the nation and raises close to $200,000 annually for charities that help children in need, according to its Web site.
[There were no guard rails between the crowds of spectators and a public highway where a drag-racing car bolted out of control, killing six people during a charity fundraising event.
The crash happened during an "exhibition burnout" - when a drag racer spins his tires fast enough to make them smoke - at the Cars for Kids charity event in Selmer, located about 80 miles east of Memphis.
Those killed in the wreck
Raven Griswell, 15, Finger, died at the scene
Nicole Griswell, 19, Selmer, died at Memphis Medical Center
Sean Michael Driskill, 22, Adamsville, died at scene
Brook L. Pope, 20, Selmer, died at McNairy Regional Medical
Center Scarlett Replogle, 15, Selmer, died at McNairy Regional Medical
Center Kimberly A. Barfield, 17, Adamsville, died at Jackson General
Hospital
Update: Witnesses question why dragster allowed to speed down Tenn. parade Car show disaster kills 6, injures 20 in Selmer
19th June 2007, 16:35
