A worker at Daytona International Speedway was struck and killed by a paraplegic driver going more than 160kph during a race for compact cars.
The worker, 44-year-old Roy H Weaver III, was standing in the middle of the track picking up debris during a caution period when he was hit by a car driven by Ray Paprota of Birmingham, Alabama, track spokesperson David Talley said on Sunday.
Paprota, who doesn’t have use of his legs and drives a car equipped with hand controls, was trying to catch up the main pack of cars after a two-car crash at the opposite end of the track brought out a yellow flag. Weaver was struck in turn two on the 4km track.
”The worker was standing right in the middle of the track when he hit him,” said Jeff Tillman, who was behind Paprota when the fatal accident occurred. ”It flipped him over the car.”
Several drivers said Weaver’s body already was covered by a tarp as they continued to circle the track under a yellow flag.
Eventually, the IPOWERacing 150 was red-flagged for about one-and-a-half hours, finally running to the finish under the lights after police investigated the scene and took pictures of Paprota’s car in the garage.
Paprota was loaded into a wheelchair-accessible van and left the track without commenting to reporters.
”I’m sorry,” he said. ”I can’t say anything.”
Weaver was the supervisor of the track crew. He had been with the speedway for seven years. — Sapa-AP