Millville Accident

Not often spectators get injured. Hope he's okay. 

We saw him being transported by the paramedics, and saw the heli come in. I did not witness what happened personally, but I did hear a fair amount of details. Not sure what was all fact, and what was just hearsay. Terrible to hear about crazy things like that happening on what should have been an awesome day at the races. Fingers crossed for your buddy. 

Was it a fall or something? Not gonna lie that place is an ADA nightmare with all of the erosion on the hills 

We talked to some people who saw it, sounds like a hammock was tied to a dead tree and collapsed on the individual

A friend and I got hit at Southwick by Bryan Swink and or whoever he was crashing with. Back then ( mid to late 90's) the fences were low and everybody was leaning on one in a corner that a berm had built up into. It was a perfect timing of the fence breaking and rider getting aggressive with another rider. I heard the crowd all gasp and saw everybody except me and my friend take a step back, out of the corner of my eye. I was looking the other direction and before I could turn to look at what they were looking at I was on the ground. The fence broke either just before or as a result of being hit .  I think it was Swinks bike that was stuck on a fence post. The crowd lifted it off. From how I remember it, the post either was through the fender , like it put a hole in the rear fender and or it was between the tire and swingarm  somehow.  Looking back, I think it was my first concussion, I was totally out of it for a couple hours . My friends hat had tire marks on it, a perfect knobby pattern.  Ever since that day, I never will be near a track with my back towards oncoming bikes. Even if there is a fence like back then.

Lucky for me and my friend, along with the rest of the crowd, all we had were some small cuts and bruises , and maybe a mild concussion. I hope that everybody involved in whatever happened at Millville comes out OK and the only long lasting effects are a good story to tell.     

Any word on him? We saw it happen and have been trying to find information since. Truly hope he will be ok it was all my daughter and I could think about. 

Dead tree fell over onto spectator as said previously. My wife and one of her coworkers (both RN's) were right by and began tending to him immediately after the incident until the helicopter arrived. Not going to speculate on his condition as I do not know the facts, but wish the best for him and his family. Crazy how fast things can happen... 

Do trees need to be ADA compliant? I don’t know of one dirt bike track that is ADA friendly…

Yes, a dead tree should be spotted by an inspector or the land owner. They have a responsibility to the safety of their guests...bummer situation for both parties.

Great guys. So we trying to get Millville closed now over a freak accident?

Get rid of Millville and have 2 races at Pala. There’s only one tree at Pala so it’s a pretty safe track. Also maybe put a rollcage on the dirtbikes and 2 more wheels to make them safer too. Actually maybe just don’t allow spectators to bring chairs, ez-ups, water, and definitely not hammocks. Even safer let’s not allow any spectators at the track and just have a livestream for $299.99 each race. Those are my thoughts to keep people safe. 

I was sincerely hoping this story would NOT show up on here. As I'm afraid Millville would be taken away from us if this turned into a legal issue. It was a freak accident with no one at fault. I was next to the last uphill double across the track from where the tree fell on the spectator. And honestly we normally stand under those trees during the races, and for some odd reason we didn't this year. I'm hoping the people that got injured are okay and don't sue. And I hope John goes through his property and removes any tree that shows signs of rot or dead limbs.

I hope he’s ok. What a bazaar thing to happen. 

The shitty thing is that it wouldn't necessarily be the injured spectators that would sue but their insurance company trying to recoup costs. 

Did this happen during the races or off in the pits somewhere? Surprised it didn’t cause a bit of commotion if a heli had to come in.
 

Fingers crossed for the best possible outcome for everyone involved. 

Any update on his condition?

I should have thought of that, I hope the lawyers dont use my post as evidence, it would be an open and shut case.

If the tree was dead and the danger it posed could have reasonably been foreseen, then I'm afraid there could be some liability. Sucks, but that's the way things work. A lawsuit to cover medical costs could also result - and bringing a lawsuit wouldn't make anyone a bad person. Just really, really unfortunate for all involved. Would the track owner not have insurance for such things? I have no idea how that works, in terms of exclusions. 

I'm only speaking about the liability issue since others have brought it up. Of course, the health of the injured person should be everyone's main concern. Hope it's not too bad. 

You're post arguably isn't saying the tree was dead; rather, I read it as saying if it was dead, then it should have been spotted. Even if you're saying it's dead, that's likely hearsay.  Still, when in doubt, make your claim hypothetical, not factual. 

Literally news just dropped that someone is in pretty bad shape after an accident at Millville and half the posts are more about the track closing from litigation.

Whether that happens or not, maybe focus on the persons well being right now.

OP hope your friend is doing okay.

It was about are trees being ADA compliant. Healthy tree-compliant, dead tree not compliant. That's all

Hope your buddy is doing ok OP... Keep us posted when you can and for everyone else.  STFU unless about his buddy

What’s ADA?

How about a little compassion for those that were injured instead of trying to be a smartass.....I hope everyone fully recovers I hate to hear about spectators getting hurt.

Americans with Disabilities Act 

I would like to know more about the facts leading up to the accident. Did your buddy tie a hammock up to a knowingly dead tree? This sounds like a freak accident but details on what caused it may be very important in the near future. I hope your buddy has a full recovery and back on his feet as quickly as possible.

For anyone that does not know about the ADA you should look up just how many fun locations have been shut down from it and the mega number of frivolous lawsuits it has created. 

In all seriousness I hope the person injured is okay. Sounds like a freak accident.  You never know when a tree will fall. I’ve seen multiple trees fall out of the blue and damage homes, cars, and even kill people. Even skilled Arborists cannot tell how well a root system will hold a tree without major intervention. And that’s impossible to do to every tree at a large facility. Some dead trees will stand for a 100 years, and some large healthy trees will fall for no reason. 

Who the hell brings a Hammock to a Motocross race  ?        Best wishes to the family effected