LIMESTONE, Maine — The Loring Time Trials were abruptly shut down Sunday morning after a Texas woman competing in the annual speed contest was injured in a crash on the runway’s shoulder.
Motorcyclist Brenda Sue Carver of Seguin, Texas, was driving at 223 mph at the 1-mile mark but her speed quickly decreased to 140 mph as she approached the 1 ½-mile mark just moments before the crash.
“She was slowing at that point, went off onto the shoulder, and it appeared that she was along for the ride,” Joe Daly, event director for the Loring Timing Association, said.
Daly addressed attendants and racers after driving down the track with local ambulance and police to see Carver’s condition.
“She was conscious and answering questions,” Daly said. “They were telling her not to get up.”
He said that Carver stopped about 30 feet from fire rescue, so they were able to assist immediately. Between ambulance and police personnel, he said there were 25 people assisting the motorcyclist.
“I am confident of her recovery,” Daly added. “Emergency response have done an excellent job.”
Carver was taken by ambulance to Cary Medical Center in Caribou.
Organizers pulled the plug on the event shortly after the accident, as Maine State Police were on their way to conduct an investigation.
“Thank you all for coming out,” Daly said, “and let’s hope the best for Brenda.”
This isn’t the first motorcycle crash to force an early end to the annual speed contest. On July 14, 2013, speed racer William Warner, 44, of Florida attempted to hit 300 mph within 1 mile when he suddenly lost control of his modified turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa and it went off the track, according to a report in the Bangor Daily News archives. He reportedly slid 1,000 feet before coming to a rest. The remaining races that day were canceled.
He was taken to Cary Medical Center where he later succumbed to his injuries, according to a previously published report.
In the wake of the fatal crash, the Loring Timing Association instituted different procedures that required all vehicles traveling above 200 mph to have an inspection, including both tires, each time the competitor ran, according to a previously published report.
“Land speed racing is a fairly safe motorsport comparing all others,” Daly told the Aroostook Republican & News in 2014. “Driving vehicles fast has to, by its nature, present some element of risk.”