Man Dies at Summernats

[XB GS 351 Coupe]

Surprised no one has started a thread on this.

Seems like a tragic incident:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-01-0...-death/8166718

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-...06-gtnfjs.html

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-...06-gtnfjs.html

[mik]

It doesn't seem to give any detail how he fell out of the back , but sometimes these things just happen unfortunately .
Condolences to the family and friends.

[Kryton]

From what i can make out, it was a flat tray, low speed and he hit his head when he fell out.

[commodorenutt]

With some of the (popular) antics that have gone on in the camping area section of the cruise route over the last 25 years (much more mild in more recent times) it's a wonder it hasn't happened earlier.
Either someone falling out of a moving vehicle, or a person being crushed or having a limb severed from the wannabe legends who have a lack of ability, and try to rip a burnout & crash into a barrier, or worse - someone's pride & joy, that has many hours of blood sweat & tears invested in it.

One of the articles claimed people were banned from riding on flat trays, but were allowed in a tub type ute back. After witnessing several tumbles from flat-trays in the 90s & early 2000s, I can see the logic here, but you can't stop everyone.

He died in hospital the day after the accident, so his injuries weren't instantly fatal.
Perhaps he was simply trying to hop out at the time, and a freak "storm" of events led to him losing balance? It doesn't take much of a hit on the head sometimes to do fatal damage.

It will come out eventually.

Condolences for his family & friends.

[Rallye Sport]

What a shame, just a young fella out enjoying the 'nats and something that seemingly low risk, on a ute at minimal speed got him.
Really suprised this hasn't happened before, it's alot tamer in canberra nowadays, anyone remember the spear a spud? I'd of thought that was the odds on favourite for a catastrophic event...

[ford71V8]

Sad.
I've been in the back of a ute (XC) while doing the cruise route of Summernats.
Bit of alcohol, the excitement of the surroundings and powerful cars and I remember the feeling that things could easily go wrong here. The worst that happened was losing my Ford hat out the back and watching the following car run over it. Earlier that day I saw one rod understeer at low speed right into the front suspension of a second rod, the potential for things to go bad is definitely there, everyone is on a high.
What a shame it is that somebody has lost their life while enjoying the scene there.

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by mik

It doesn't seem to give any detail how he fell out of the back , but sometimes these things just happen unfortunately .
Condolences to the family and friends.

There would have been multiple versions of recorded footage of the incident. Hopefully those users manage the footage in a respectful manner.

[66 STANG]

It happened on a section of the cruise route that is not lined with spectators (around the back near the burnout pad road entry) . I suspect he wasn't ready when the driver "took off" quickly and unfortunately landed head first onto the road. I doubt there would be any video footage of this one.
I'll bet the driver of the truck (50's rusty rat rod F Truck) isn't feeling too flash right about now too...... Very sad for all involved.

[Junkyard-Dog]

It's a shame and I wouldn't be surprised if even more health and safety changes came to Summernats. I felt that they had already mellowed it out quite a bit over the last few years and I'm actually surprised to hear about a death at the event, whereas ten years ago it wouldn't have shocked me at all.

Just such a tragedy for all involved.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by 66 STANG

It happened on a section of the cruise route that is not lined with spectators (around the back near the burnout pad road entry) . I suspect he wasn't ready when the driver "took off" quickly and unfortunately landed head first onto the road. I doubt there would be any video footage of this one.
I'll bet the driver of the truck (50's rusty rat rod F Truck) isn't feeling too flash right about now too...... Very sad for all involved.

That was my assumption, quick take-off or jab of the throttle and the bloke came straight off the back.

If the bloke was 6 foot it would mean his head is near 3m off the ground. At that height falling headfirst onto the road is never going to end well.

We take some stupid risks in the name of fun..