Widowed Mother Files Suit in SB County OHV Tragedy

[Sandman]

The promoter of a race held on public lands is being sued. The Barstow BLM may be added in the near future. Attorneys for Doris Levinson filed suit last week claiming race promoter MDR productions and driver Brett Sloppy acted recklessly by not taking proper precauthions at the Agu.14 race located at "The Rockpile" in Johnston Valley. Andrew Therrien was smashed into while attempting to push his 8 year old daughter out of harms way. She was critically injured but survived after being transported by air to the nearest trauma center. 7 others were killed by an out of control OHV. Roxie Troast, the manager of the Barstow BLM field office that permitted the race,has made public statements stating the BLM does not have adequate law enforcement personel tho manage the participants and spectators.One has to wonder.....if the BLM cannot manage the safety, why is this activity pemitted on public lands?

[Sal]

Did you see the movie "traffic" some years ago with Michael Douglas and Katherine Zeta Jones? they asked the Mexican drug czar, Salazar, what their treatment plans were for addicts.
He replied"treatment? addicts treat themselves. They OD, they die, end of problem".

[Sandman]

I dont see that as a solution to the ongoing problem. In the years of my youth, I attended numerous races at the old privately owned Riverside International Raceway. As a spectator, there was ample fencing erected to keep us at a safe distance from the racetrack. Yes, there were plenty of spectacular accidents but the crowd was never involved. Race personell were on hand to patrol the areas that were off limits and the public was able to watch the race in a relatively safe environment. Today, my property is located in an area that is a mix of private and BLM land. The BLM lands are designated "limited use". OHV use is permitted on designated routes only.Unfortunatly it is common to observe illegal OHV activity in the Juniper sub region of the BLM Barstow district. When I call the Federal Hotline to report this illegal dangerous and damaging actvity, I am often told there are no BLM law enforcement agents available to respond. They may even be at some OHV race somewhere in the BLM administered lands controlled by the Barstow district. I find it no suprise that the district supervisor uses the same excuse with local property owners as they do with the public that asks why unsupervised spectators were allowed to get so close to such a dangerous location in a wide open OHV race. The BLM is responsible for insuring public safety when they allow such an activity. They even collect a fee from the race promoters to allow them to hold the event on public lands. I have to question the rationale of Barstow BLM district manager Roxie Troast in allowing the activity in the first place. So........whats the deal?

[MMM]

I once again would like to remind readers that a while ago there was a rather long thread about the race. In this age it is a given fact that legal action allways follows tragedy. Could more have been done to protect the public from the known area of danger? Most likely yes. I am not sure if the BLM allows proctective measures like fences, hay bales or anything else to be placed along the race path. Maybe someone with more knowledge can share. What is known is one simple fact. People made the choice, poor as it was, to stand, to be, where they were during the race in a place tha had a very high level of danger. Common sence would have made most people stand back some distance from an area where high speed race truck would jump over a known jump. But sadly, common sence is not all that common. Could the BLM or the race promoters had more people at the site of the crash. Yes. Would this have prevented the roll-over? No Somewhere in all this are the people who made that fatefull dessision to place themselves in harms way and they must be the ones who are responsible for their own deaths and injuries. At what point do we as individuals take responsibility for our own actions? Is it the fault of someone else all the time? This is a tragic event that should never have happened. And it would not have happened, patrols or not, if people did not drink, take actions adverse to their own health and safety and simply sotod back and enjoyed the race.

Mike

[Sandman]

I have to disagree with you Mmm.I dont recall a rather long thread on DUSA about this lawsuit. Perhaps a designated race track area with spectator boundries marked with a bio degradable chalk line would be a simple way to mark spectator areas. Designated law enforcement officers assigned to patrol these areas is also something to seriously consider. Allowing unsupervised chaos at a high speed Ohv race is a recipe for disaster in my honest opinion. The price paid was 8 lives lost and 10 people injured seriously enough to need hospitalization. A little supervision would have gone a long way and prevented the deaths and law suit. When permitting an OHV race in a public area, it is quite simple to designate an area for spectators to enjoy a day watching. In my opinion, reckless ohv use on public land is a hazard to safety. Healthcare professionals working in the nearby hospitals are all too familiar with this fact. There ARE many ways those who enjoy this activity can do so in a concious and safer way. When I am on the trail with my 4x4, I always operate my vehicle in a way that promotes safety. Why should the Barstow BLM be exempt?

[Brew]

Sandman, look at "Desert Racing Accident" in the topics column. You had much more to be concerned about while that topic was discussed.
It's my understanding that the competition was spread out over a long course, not a stadium type setting. To mark off the whole course is asking too much. I've been to a couple of rock crawling competitions and have to say that the spectators are putting themselves in locations that are a danger to them. You can't legislate common sense.

How much more law enforcement or regulations would have prevented your accident? There is a reason they call them accidents.

Brew

[Plays In The Dirt]

Sandman - There was a thread that I started about this racing tragedy but you were recovering in the hospital at the time. The link is below.

Greg (aka - Plays In The Dirt)

http://www.desertusa.com/mb3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=2091

[Dezertfox]

---DELETED---

[Dan]

At some point, those standing within reach of speeding off-road vehicles in a desert race, on uncertain terrain, and with uncertain results, are putting themselves in harm's way. At some point they also must assume responsibility for their actions. They knew, or should have known, that off-road vehicles involved in a race are not precisely guided. Hell, even pavement-based road race vehicles are not precisely guided. They knew, or should have known that standing next to a race course, with no physical barrier capable of containing a vehicle that accidentally careens out of control, is an extremely dangerous and risky activity. And to allow his 8 year old daughter to stand there as well, this now-dead spectator has assumed that risk on her behalf. If there is some measure of comparative negligence here, I think the vast majority of it lies squarely on the shoulders of the adult spectators injured and killed.

Personal responsibility is a virtue. Pushing it off on someone else is a character flaw.

[Plays In The Dirt]

Dezertfox there's No Part of your post that I find funny.

Greg (aka - Plays In The Dirt)

Moderator Note: Use your "Master" DELETE or EDIT Key on those kind of posts Greg.

Jim