Texas drag race car driver hits spectators and kills 2 children

KERRVILLE, Texas (AP) – A driver lost control during a Texas drag racing event at an airport track and crashed into a crowd of spectators, killing two children and injuring eight other people, authorities said.

A 6-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy were killed in the crash Saturday afternoon at an event called “Airport Race Wars 2” at Kerrville-Kerr County Airport, police said in a press release. The organized event was attended by thousands and involved drivers speeding up a runway as they competed for cash.

The driver “lost control and left the runway, crashed into parked vehicles and hit spectators watching the races,” Kerrville police said.

The injured victims were taken to various hospitals, including a 46-year-old woman who was listed in critical condition. The majority of the other injuries are not believed to be life-threatening, although the condition of a 26-year-old man was unknown, authorities said. A 4-year-old boy and a 3-month-old girl were taken to a hospital to take safety precautions.

Authorities have not released the identities of the two children killed in the incident about 97 miles northwest of San Antonio.

The Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau’s website promoted the event as an “action-packed, family-friendly day” where fans could watch the “fastest tow trucks compete for over $ 8,000 in prizes in total.”

Over 3,500 people were in attendance, according to Louis Amestoy, a freelance journalist who was at the event.

The race was 0.8 kilometers long, and water-filled plastic barriers lined along the track. But Amestoy said they did not stretch past the finish line, leaving no protection between spectators and cars as they slowed down at the end of the race.

Spectators could come within 4.6 meters of the track, and many watched the race from lawn chairs in the absence of stands. Organizers reminded people to stay in the grass and off the tarmac, Amestoy told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

The driver was nearing the end of the strip as the car drove off course, Amestoy said.

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Associated Press author Bryan Gallion contributed to this report from Roseland, New Jersey.