Death of Calif. off-road racer was 1st in U.S. race in 10 years

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000 | 9:28 a.m.

Larry Deaton, the 41-year-old off-road racer killed during last weekend's SCORE Laughlin Desert Challenge, died of massive internal injuries, according to the Clark County coroner.

Deaton was pronounced dead at University Medical Center Saturday afternoon after his Class 1 desert race car flipped during the second lap of a five-lap race and was hit broadside by at least one other race vehicle.

Coroner Ron Flud said the autopsy revealed that Deaton died of "multiple traumatic injuries," but would not say whether the Clovis, Calif., resident died as a result of his car flipping or the impact by the other vehicle.

"There are so many things going on in an accident like that, (the precise cause of death) could be from a multitude of different things that he struck or that came into contact with him," Flud said.

But Dr. Dale Carrison, medical director for the SCORE off-road series and director of emergency services at University Medical Center, said it was likely Deaton died as a result of being broadsided by another vehicle.

"After talking to the trauma team and the people at the scene, (the fatal injuries probably occurred) when the other vehicle struck (Deaton's car)," Carrison said.

"It would appear that there were massive internal injuries. Generally, with a head injury, you still have functioning cardiopulmonary system; your heart and lungs are still going to function."

According to Carrison, Deaton had no vital signs and was unconscious and unresponsive when a paramedic with another race team reached the accident scene.

Garrison said that the Herbst Racing Team had a helicopter in the air at the time of the accident, with a paramedic on board. The helicopter was being used by the Herbst team to monitor Troy Herbst, who was competing in the Class 1 race at the time of Deaton's accident.

"The Herbst helicopter was the first to land and they had a paramedic on board," Carrison said. "They immediately went to (Deaton) and immediately began CPR.

"I spoke to the people (who transported Deaton to UMC via helicopter) and they did CPR all the way in and when he got to the trauma center, at no time did he have cardiac activity."

Carrison said that while rollover accidents in off-road races are common, fatalities are not. According to SCORE, Deaton was the first competitor killed in a U.S. race in nearly 10 years.

Danny Hamel of Boulder City was the last competitor to be killed during a SCORE-sanctioned event when the motorcycle he was riding hit a civilian motorist who had pulled onto the track during the Baja 500 in 1995.

"I have been present for I don't know how many rollovers and there are no problems with the rollovers ... those cars are designed to roll," Carrison said. "The biggest fear we always have -- whether it's in Winston Cup, IRL, the World of Outlaws -- is when you get broadsided by another vehicle.

"The vehicles are (designed) to take rollovers, the roll cages are designed to take that sort of impact, but when another vehicle runs into you, you just can't brace for that. You would have to have a vehicle that was so strong that it wouldn't be competitive."

Brian Collins of Las Vegas, a longtime off-road racer, said Deaton's death is an unfortunate part of the sport of auto racing.

"It's an unfortunate deal," Collins said. "We've lost a friend, we've lost a racer and it's bad for the sport.

"But racing is dangerous and we are all at risk and that's the bottom line. You hope it never happens again but to think it will never happen again, we're lying to ourselves."

But even the most stringent safety measures can't prevent all injuries or deaths in a sport that is inherently dangerous, Collins said.

"I like to think when I go out there that I drive smart, that we're safe and that we've done everything possible to prevent injury -- not only to ourselves but to someone on the course," Collins said.

"The trucks that we drive and what we do is safe. Do I think we've done everything possible? No. No matter what you do or no matter what you try to do that you think is right, if you get an unfortunate accident -- and that is what this was, an accident -- and someone gets killed, you always go back and say, 'What should we have done?' "