NASCAR tries to block chilling crash vid
Sunday, February 24, 2013
The moment Kyle Larson's car broke apart and landed in the grandstands
Photo: Getty Images
Here is the amateur footage NASCAR doesn't want you to see – a terrifying 76-second clip of the moment Kyle Larson's car broke apart and landed in the grandstands.
The vision, shot from the grandstand, demonstrates how quickly Saturday's second-tier race at Daytona turned to carnage as pieces of Larson's car, including the engine, broke through the catch fence and hurtled into the crowd.
According to reports, 14 spectators were taken to hospital with injuries, and one is in a life-threatening condition with head trauma. Another, a 14-year-old fan, is also in a critical condition.
The footage clearly shows a man operating a television camera at the very spot where debris from Larson's car pierces the fence. When the smoke clears the man is gone.
Shock then turns to panic as the camera pans left to a tyre that has landed in the stands. A fan, presumably struck by the tyre, slumps obscured in his seat as those around him cry for medical assistance.
Shortly after this video was uploaded to YouTube it was removed at NASCAR's request. The sporting body retains copyright to all footage of its races, both professional and amateur.
Of course, attempting to erase breaking news from social media tends to have the opposite effect, and the video has now been uploaded time and again to YouTube and other sharing sites.
NASCAR later confirmed they requested the original video be taken down but denied a cover-up, saying instead it was out of respect for the victims.
"The fan video of the wreck on the final lap of today's NASCAR Nationwide Series race was blocked on YouTube out of respect for those injured in today's accident," senior vice-president Steve Phelps told Yahoo! Sports in a statement.
"Information on the status of those fans was unclear and the decision was made to err on the side of caution with this very serious incident."
Watch the video NASCAR doesn't want you to see below (WARNING: foul language and potentially upsetting scenes):
youtube.com
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