A camera cable snapped at Sunday night’s Coca-Cola 600. That alone doesn’t sound too bad, but when you rephrase it as “a huge cable snapped and fell across the track and stands, causing entire sections of people to get violently whipped every time a car came by and hit it,” it gets pretty terrifying. What you see above is a spectator’s perspective on the danger, featuring the horror of a possible impending death, and all the color you’d expect from the track crowd, namely
– people who won’t get out of the way, even when they’re about to get hurt
– a guy who tells everybody to “get down” but won’t stop filming the cable flapping in his face
– wooing
– people grabbing the cable, which is a totally smart thing to do when fast cars are pulling it
Here’s an excerpt from a first-hand account of the accident, courtesy of Yahoo Sports contributor Geoffrey Miller.
The cars raced toward us on the frontstretch, I grabbed my dad’s shoulder, pulled him down and we ducked between the seats.
After the field roared by, we stood up and joined the growing frenzy around us desperately waving and yelling to draw the attention of someone – anyone – who could bring the race to a halt.
No officials seemed to notice. Several fans tossed beers and other items toward the track, hoping the splashes would gain notice.
Still, a second time, the field raced towards us. Fans below us desperately yanked the cord from the track while others scurried out of the way or just simply ducked. Sections of fans all around us continued to holler. (via Yahoo)
Scary. Ten fans were injured and a bunch of stock cars were damaged, but thankfully they called a caution when they did and the situation didn’t turn out a lot worse. Here’s another, slightly more graphic angle of the accident, exclusive to With Leather:
