Post by M|R|K|N|O|C|K|O|U|T on Oct 7, 2011 11:45:30 GMT -6
Randy Mitchell City Editor The Ada News The Ada Evening News Wed Oct 05, 2011, 10:12 AM CDT
Ada —
When race car driver Kip Hughes saw a fellow racer’s car burst into flames at the Oklahoma Sports Park (OSP) Saturday ght he instinctively ran to the rescue.
Hughes is haunted by the memory of his father being severely burned in a race in 1991. The then 7-year-old Hughes could only watch helplessly from the stands.
Saturday ght, nothing would stop him from preventing tragedy.
“I don’t want that to ever happen again for anybody,” Hughes said. “Whether I’m battling it out with them on the race track and we’re exchanging (gestures) or whatever else, It’s a horrible deal for a family to go through.”
Racers had just restarted after fueling up when the multiple-car crash occurred at the Stock Car Nationals at OSP. One car got loose and hit the wall. It rolled back onto the track where it was hit by another car driven by Terry Muskratt.
Muskratt’s car was then hit by another sending his car rolling over and landing on its passenger side after bursting into flames. Race attendee Bert Masters said those in attendance jumped to their feet in shock when flames engulfed the vehicle.
“It was intense,” Masters said.
The 27-year-old Hughes stopped his car and ran to the trapped Muskratt’s aid. He struggled to remove a window net which he said was keeping him from reaching Muskratt. Track crews rushed in and attempted to douse the flames.
Muskratt was having trouble seeing inside the vehicle which was filled with smoke. Hughes said when the car rolled over, it bent the release mechanisms for the driver’s-side window safety net. He struggled to get it to release to no avail.
“I stood back and started yanking at it as hard as I could and ripped the window net in half,” Hughes said.
Race announcer Larry Carr could be heard over the loud speakers trying to keep crowds from entering the raceway.
“Fans, please do not go out on the track. You will only keep us from doing our job,” he said.
Hughes was wearing protective racing gear but forgot his helmet shield was up and the fire whipped around his face and singed part of one eyebrow. He quickly closed the shield and reached into the car.
He said Muskratt had already removed his steering wheel but the weight of his body hanging from the safety belts was preventing him from unlocking it.
“Once I got the window net down, I just reached up and pushed on his stomach area and as soon as I did that his belts released and he hit the ground,” Hughes said. “I grabbed him and he was kind of disoriented it seemed like — which obviously you would be.”
After 27 seconds of struggling, which Hughes said felt like 30 minutes, he pulled Muskratt from the wreckage and away from the fire. Announcer Carr yelled exuberantly.
“He’s out! He’s OK! He’s all right! Yah!” Carr said.
Hughes was not injured. Muskratt suffered a minor burn to his hand and complained of lower back pain after the wreck. A video of the crash is available for viewing at www.theadanews.com.
Haunting memory
Hughes said his father was racing a stock car on pavement when he crashed in 1991. His father was wearing a fire-proof suit but his helmet was open-faced.
“It was an open-face helmet Back in ‘91, open-face helmets on pavement was the cool thing to do,” Hughes said.
His father suffered third-degree burns to most of his face which Hughes said he is reminded of everyday.
“I eat lunch with my dad everyday and everyday I sit across from him and his whole face is pretty much scare tissue. It burned him bad,’ he said. “Every time I’m at a race track I think about that day.”
Hughes said there have been other incidences which help to motivate him to help.
“I’ve had a fire similar to that myself,” Hughes said, “(and) I saw a friend of mine get burned up in Enid and he ended up dying from it. It’s one of those deals that just hits close to home for me,” he said. “I’ve been that little 7-year-old boy in the stands watching helplessly and there’s nothing you can do while your dad’s stuck in the car that’s on fire.”
Hughes said there was no thought question as to whether he was going to help Muskratt.
“It’s just instinct for me to go to it and address the situation as best I can and try to help out as much as I can,” he said.
Hughes said what kept him from getting Muskratt out quicker also kept his father trapped — the safety net which is mandatory in most cases. He makes it no secret that he doesn’t like window nets.
“I hate them,” Hughes said. “I think they’re the biggest (hazard). My dad had one in that car he was burned up in. If he didn’t have one, he could have (crawled) out the window and been fine.”
Ada —
When race car driver Kip Hughes saw a fellow racer’s car burst into flames at the Oklahoma Sports Park (OSP) Saturday ght he instinctively ran to the rescue.
Hughes is haunted by the memory of his father being severely burned in a race in 1991. The then 7-year-old Hughes could only watch helplessly from the stands.
Saturday ght, nothing would stop him from preventing tragedy.
“I don’t want that to ever happen again for anybody,” Hughes said. “Whether I’m battling it out with them on the race track and we’re exchanging (gestures) or whatever else, It’s a horrible deal for a family to go through.”
Racers had just restarted after fueling up when the multiple-car crash occurred at the Stock Car Nationals at OSP. One car got loose and hit the wall. It rolled back onto the track where it was hit by another car driven by Terry Muskratt.
Muskratt’s car was then hit by another sending his car rolling over and landing on its passenger side after bursting into flames. Race attendee Bert Masters said those in attendance jumped to their feet in shock when flames engulfed the vehicle.
“It was intense,” Masters said.
The 27-year-old Hughes stopped his car and ran to the trapped Muskratt’s aid. He struggled to remove a window net which he said was keeping him from reaching Muskratt. Track crews rushed in and attempted to douse the flames.
Muskratt was having trouble seeing inside the vehicle which was filled with smoke. Hughes said when the car rolled over, it bent the release mechanisms for the driver’s-side window safety net. He struggled to get it to release to no avail.
“I stood back and started yanking at it as hard as I could and ripped the window net in half,” Hughes said.
Race announcer Larry Carr could be heard over the loud speakers trying to keep crowds from entering the raceway.
“Fans, please do not go out on the track. You will only keep us from doing our job,” he said.
Hughes was wearing protective racing gear but forgot his helmet shield was up and the fire whipped around his face and singed part of one eyebrow. He quickly closed the shield and reached into the car.
He said Muskratt had already removed his steering wheel but the weight of his body hanging from the safety belts was preventing him from unlocking it.
“Once I got the window net down, I just reached up and pushed on his stomach area and as soon as I did that his belts released and he hit the ground,” Hughes said. “I grabbed him and he was kind of disoriented it seemed like — which obviously you would be.”
After 27 seconds of struggling, which Hughes said felt like 30 minutes, he pulled Muskratt from the wreckage and away from the fire. Announcer Carr yelled exuberantly.
“He’s out! He’s OK! He’s all right! Yah!” Carr said.
Hughes was not injured. Muskratt suffered a minor burn to his hand and complained of lower back pain after the wreck. A video of the crash is available for viewing at www.theadanews.com.
Haunting memory
Hughes said his father was racing a stock car on pavement when he crashed in 1991. His father was wearing a fire-proof suit but his helmet was open-faced.
“It was an open-face helmet Back in ‘91, open-face helmets on pavement was the cool thing to do,” Hughes said.
His father suffered third-degree burns to most of his face which Hughes said he is reminded of everyday.
“I eat lunch with my dad everyday and everyday I sit across from him and his whole face is pretty much scare tissue. It burned him bad,’ he said. “Every time I’m at a race track I think about that day.”
Hughes said there have been other incidences which help to motivate him to help.
“I’ve had a fire similar to that myself,” Hughes said, “(and) I saw a friend of mine get burned up in Enid and he ended up dying from it. It’s one of those deals that just hits close to home for me,” he said. “I’ve been that little 7-year-old boy in the stands watching helplessly and there’s nothing you can do while your dad’s stuck in the car that’s on fire.”
Hughes said there was no thought question as to whether he was going to help Muskratt.
“It’s just instinct for me to go to it and address the situation as best I can and try to help out as much as I can,” he said.
Hughes said what kept him from getting Muskratt out quicker also kept his father trapped — the safety net which is mandatory in most cases. He makes it no secret that he doesn’t like window nets.
“I hate them,” Hughes said. “I think they’re the biggest (hazard). My dad had one in that car he was burned up in. If he didn’t have one, he could have (crawled) out the window and been fine.”
Thought this was kind of crazy, and when I mean crazy, something you just don't see everyday, or hear about. I saw the video first thing, then read the story they had to it, so figured I'd post this, just to see what others think.
