Trickle dies after 13-month battle

Thursday, March 26, 1998 | 9:54 a.m.

For 13 months, Chuck and Barbara Trickle never gave up hoping for a miracle.

As late as Saturday afternoon, Barbara Trickle was hopeful that a new treatment might help their son, Chris, come out of his comatose state.

The popular race car driver fell into a coma after being shot in the head by an unknown assailant as he drove along Blue Diamond Road on Feb. 9, 1997. He had emerged briefly from his coma in October and the family had hoped for another miracle, one that would be lasting.

But there will be no miracles for the Trickle family. On Wednesday, Chris Trickle died at 3:30 p.m. at a local hospital. He was 25.

Trickle's parents were not available for comment Wednesday, said a family spokesman. The Trickles had taken their son to the hospital earlier in the day, a family friend said.

On Saturday, Barbara Trickle wrote in a daily diary that she has posted on the "Trickle Racing" Internet web site that the family was checking into a new procedure they had heard about on a television program.

"We watched a Discovery Channel program on (comas)," she wrote. "Most of it was pretty depressing, but there was a section (giving hope) that I'm going to check on. The commentator was saying that families of brain injury patients are always susceptible to any treatment or procedure that might bring some hope and we're no different.

"We'll try anything to have Chris back. It just doesn't seem possible that he could be taken and never come back. He was just too special -- just too important. We all need him in our lives."

Mike Henle, a friend of the Trickle family who served as a publicist for Chris when he was sponsored by the Palace Station hotel-casino, said Trickle's parents never gave up hope their son would regain consciousness.

"Chuck and Barbara were in such strong belief that Chris would wake up that I think we all kind of felt the same way," Henle said. "In spite of the severity of the injury, they were so up about (his recovery) that, in my mind, I thought Chris would come out of it -- because they wouldn't let it be any other way."

Chris Trickle suffered severe brain damage as a result of the shooting and was unable to speak or care for himself. He underwent at least five major surgeries and survived a life-threatening bout with pneumonia while he was in the coma.

No one has been arrested in the shooting and Metro Police have no leads.

"This is truly a very sad day for everyone," said Larry Horten, the general manager of short track operations at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. "On behalf of everyone at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, we wish to convey our deepest sympathy. Chris was a tremendous tribute to the sport, to his family and to Las Vegas. We will never forget him. He fought to the end like a true champion."

Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., also was saddened by the news.

"I can't begin to imagine the anguish Chris Trickle's family is going through today," Ensign said. "It's a tragic event when a young man with so much to offer, who had fought so hard with his devastating injuries for more than a year, is taken by such a horrible act of random violence.

"We should always remember that even in his last weeks, Chris Trickle brought our community together. My family and my staff will join me today in praying for the Trickle family."

Last October, Trickle briefly came out of his coma and reportedly began talking, asking for a cup of coffee and telling his girlfriend, Jen, that he loved her. Then, just as suddenly as he had awakened, Trickle slipped back into his coma.

Last month, Trickle made his first public appearance at a fund-raiser at the Santa Fe hotel-casino. The event was attended by his uncle, NASCAR Winston Cup star Dick Trickle, and approximately 450 well-wishers. More than $20,000 was raised for Trickle's rehabilitation fund through donations, T-shirt sales and a memorabilia raffle.

Chuck and Barbara Trickle had been caring for their son in Las Vegas since he returned from a California rehabilitation center last November, when the family's insurance coverage had run out.

Henle said he believes the Trickles will not be able to find closure until the person or persons responsible for Chris' shooting -- and, ultimately, his death -- are brought to justice.

"Nobody disliked Chris Trickle," Henle said. "Nobody ever had anything bad to say about him -- and that's unusual in racing. That's what makes this so hard to take.

"I know the family is devastated. They really, really believed that the man upstairs was going to take care of things. I've never seen people so unwilling to give up."