Um, If ya like to watch car wrecks,

[5.3LSilverado01]

 

This is it.

[99silveradoz71]

That was definitely something to see...some crappy conditions too.

[phillyturbosix]

 

[General Lee 01]

WHOA!

 

 

I hope everybody made it out ok. Got anything about the story behind this 5.3?

[5.3LSilverado01]

Crippled car racer wins massive payout

 

A racing car driver whose career ended with a sickening crash five years ago Wednesday was awarded 90 million yen compensation after the Tokyo District Court ruled race organizers were to blame for his crippling accident.

 

Mainichi Shimbun

 

"I still love car racing," Ota said after the ruling.

 

Tetsuya Ota fell well short of getting the 300 million he had been asking from the five organizers and the marshal of the 1998 race where he suffered severe burns that ruined his driving career, but received the vindication he had been looking for.

 

"The crash was caused when the flag car suddenly slowed down," Presiding Judge Tsuyoshi Ono said. "Firefighting and rescue preparations were also not up to scratch."

 

Ota was delighted with the court win. "I would like to thank everybody who has supported me along the way," the 43-year-old once referred to as Japan's best Ferrari handler said in the wake of the ruling.

 

Those ordered to pay Ota include Fuji Speedway in Shizuoka Prefecture, where the horrifying crash occurred, and TV Tokyo, which broadcast the race.

 

None of the defendants have stated whether they will appeal against the ruling, including TV Tokyo, which spent the entirety of the court battle arguing that it could not be regarded as one of the race organizers.

 

Court records said Ota's terrifying crash occurred during a warm-up lap before the official start of the race in May 1998. Ota's car burst into flames after slamming into another vehicle that had already stopped because of a different accident.

 

Ota was stuck in the fireball for almost 90 seconds before rescuers finally dragged him out. He sustained burns across his body and is still unable to move his right arm, right shoulder and fingers properly.

 

Judges ruled the flag car should have been traveling at about 60 kilometers per hour instead of the 150 kilometers it was doing, and caused the accident by slowing too quickly. Ota was forced to unexpectedly drop his pace and, as a result, he lost control and smash into the stationary vehicle.

 

They also decided that Ota was left in his flaming vehicle for too long and organizers had neglected their responsibility to get him out of the burning car within 30 seconds of the blaze erupting.

 

A pre-race agreement between Ota and the organizers not to pursue legal action in the event of an accident was also dismissed as unacceptable.

 

"A letter that tries to eliminate one party from taking any responsibility for major accidents caused by gross negligence is incorrect, unfair and not void in this court," presiding judge Ono said.

 

TV Tokyo's attempt to avoid being regarded as one of the race organizers was dismissed by the court, which ruled it was involved in sufficient decisions made about the race to be viewed as one of the organizations directly concerned with running it.

 

Ota made his debut in 1982, racing in the Formula 3000 series before switching to GT car races in which he competed in four straight Le Mans 24-hour races. (Mainichi Shimbun, Japan, Oct. 29, 2003)"

[Wingnut]

I don't think he should have gotten a dime.

 

Everybody else slowed down just fine without losing control of their vehicle, and pinballing around the track.

 

He made a mistake. He should have to live with it....Not get paid 90 million for it.

 

Imagine what it would be like if every NASCAR driver sued every track, TV station, and NASCAR itself everytime somebody got hurt.

 

Just my 1:00 AM .02

[General Lee 01]

I think it's more relation to weather than anything else. But I agree with Wingnut, not right.

 

I like how the report says nothing about the driver of the 1st car, the porshce His end of the crash looked a heck of alot worse. He took 2 big blows there..

[5.3LSilverado01]

I think this is fair but only considering that if the fact that there was pure negligence is true. Im not sure of the rules and how its all set up but... The pace car was doing 150 instead of 60 in extreme weather conditions. Then slowed really fast. All the cars in the wreck were coming much faster that the cars behind the pace car. I dont know if those fast going cars were doing 150 following the pace car, of if the did not know a pace car was on the track and were coming full speed. Well that casued the wreck and then the driver was left in that burning fireball for 3 times longer than regulations say... Also maybe they should have not raced in those conidtions. I undersatnd racing is dangerous and $hit happens but they werent racing, they were following a pace car who did something stupid and caused a wreck and then couldnt even get to the car in good time.

If you were at a drag strip and signed your waiver and all and then wrecked casue the track forgot to pave the last 10 ft of the strip, and then took there time to help you, they would be in deep turds.

 

Anyway, 90 million yen is $872,823.13. I dought that will eve cover his hospital bills (do they pay for that over there?).

 

Or maybe that guy shouldn't of painted his car with napalm...

[Wingnut]

I would just think that if the other drivers managed to slow down without losing control of their cars, this guy should have been able to.

[kirkRHughes]

90 million yen converts to $871,501.93 and if it's like here the lawyer will get 40%. Poor crispy Ota will end up with $522,901.16 minus tax and court cost maybe.

[vortec]

ouch!

[ManyCamaroz]

That's bad!

 

I worked on a Busch series pit crew for 2 years and when we got our NASCAR license we had to a sign a waiver that NASCAR was not liable for anything injuries, our pictures could be used as they saw fit for promotions and we could not sue.

[General Lee 01]

Hudson,

 

What were the years? Who was you driver(s)? Did you come to RIR any?

 

I think that's pretty cool.