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By KELBY HARTSON , Tima Ntwjpapm SUIT Writer < Since the death of a spectator at [Sumerduck Dragway last weekend, •police officials and racing enthusiasts have raised a number of concerns about the track's safety. ; At a race held at the track Sunday, a • driver lost control of his car, hit a two, foot-high guard rail, went through a ! chain link fence and plowed into the I spectators' bleachers, traveling at about 180 miles an hour. Vickie Lynn Foster of • Fredericksburg was killed instantly; five , other fans were injured. ; Sheriff Joe Higgs said the safety . measures at the track — while perhaps , within the law — are obviously inade; quate. ; "That guard rail, as proven in this • incident, was insufficient," he said.
Deputy Mike Lamper agreed. "I don't feel the guard rail did what it's sup• posed to do," he said. . Higgs said the state legislature | needs to look into new laws to tighten up ; the safety measures required of these . tracks. With no local or state laws pro, viding protection for race car spectators, Higgs said, "there's an awful lot left to . speculation as to what's safe and what i isn't safe." ; He stressed that the race track ; appears to be following all existing laws, • and also as a member of the National ; Hot Rod Association, has followed that organization's guidelines for membership.
! "I’m not .saying anybody's at fault ; here. I'm saying here’s a possible tragedy • that could have been avoided if stricter . safety measures had been mandated," ! Higgs said.
A similar incident in- Culpeper County sparked a state study on the safe.' ty of spectators at racing events this year. | The Spectator Safety at Racing ; Events study, sponsored by Virginia Del. i David Brickley of Woodbridge, is being conducted by the Virginia Commonwealth University Transportation Safety Center.
Roger Curtis, operator of the track, insisted that the dragway is perfectly safe. "The car hit [the guard rail] about i70 miles per hour head-on and it’s still there," he said.
"Don’t tell me our track isn't up to safety specifications .... Don't question my safety standards because I know they're right,” he added.
"Anything can happen, but all we'* can do is do what the guidelines are,” Curtis said. c. "I've been here 30 years and I've never had a spectator die" before, he
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