At least 33 spectators at a NASCAR race in Florida were injured after the debris from a crashed car landed in the grandstands. No fatalities were reported in the accident at the Daytona International Speedway.
The injuries occurred after driver Kyle Larson’s car encountered a pileup at the last lap of the Nationwide Series race and went airborne into the fence that separates the track from the seats, AP reports. The car itself had its entire front end sheared off. Larson and the other drivers were not wounded.
Some of the injured fans were treated at the site and other 18 were taken to hospitals, said Halifax Health spokesman Byron Cogdell. He added that two people who arrived to hospital in critical condition are now stable.
“There obviously was some intrusion into the fence and fortunately with the way the event’s equipped up, there were plenty of emergency workers ready to go and they all jumped in on it pretty quickly,” NASCAR President Mike Helton said after the accident. “Right now, it’s just a function of determining what all damage is done.”
The accident occurred the day before the opening day of the Daytona 500, the Sprint Cup Series. “It’s a violent wreck. Just seeing the carnage on the racetrack, it’s truly unbelievable,” driver Justin Allgaier said.