LIMESTONE, Maine — A problem with the motorcycle could have caused the accident that injured driver Brenda Sue Carver during a land speed race at the former Loring Air Force Base on Sunday, according to police.
Carver was participating in the Loring Timing Association’s annual event and had hit 223 miles per hour at the 1-mile mark on the runway about a half mile before the crash occurred.
Carver did not suffer any internal injuries and, though she was taken Sunday to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor with several broken bones, is expected to be OK, race director Tim Kelly said Tuesday.
A spokesperson from EMMC said Tuesday that no information was available regarding Carver, which could mean the Seguin, Texas, woman is no longer at the hospital or has not agreed to have any information released to the public.
Carver’s motorcycle speed quickly decreased to 140 mph as she approached the 1 ½-mile mark of her run just moments before it went off the runway, event director Joe Daly said Sunday.
“She was slowing at that point, went off onto the shoulder, and it appeared that she was along for the ride,” Daly said. The accident happened about 30 feet from where emergency personnel were standing by, so Carver was immediately attended to and was conscious and answering their questions, he said. She was first transported by ambulance to Cary Medical Center in Caribou before being transferred to EMMC.
The rest of the land speed events were canceled after the accident so police could investigate. Organizers initially contacted the Maine State Police, but since the accident was not fatal, the investigation was turned over to the Limestone Police Department.
Limestone Police Chief Stacey Mahan said Tuesday that he has not been able to interview Carver yet about what might have happened.
“We can’t say with 100 percent certainty, but it looked like a part of the motorcycle touched the ground or came loose,” Mahan said. “She probably knew something was up, or the bike felt different and it was slowing down, so she went to the grassy area, which is where they were supposed to go if there are any issues. Again, we can’t confirm but it seems that something scraped on the ground.”
After inspecting the vehicle, Mahan said he noticed a “fairly decent scrape” on the plastic located on the lower portion of the motorcycle.
“The scrape may have occurred prior to her slowing down,” said Mahan. “I can’t say for sure without talking to her, but it looks that way.”
Three years ago in July at Loring, speed racer William Warner, 44, of Florida died of his injuries shortly after losing control of his modified turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa while attempting to reach 300 mph within 1 mile.
In the wake of that fatal crash, the Loring Timing Association instituted different procedures that required all vehicles, including tires, traveling above 200 mph be inspected before each competition, according to a previously published report.
“Unless we can derive something from the police report or the owner of the motorcycle, I don’t foresee us putting any new rules in place,” Kelly said Tuesday. “There’s nothing our tech people looked at on the bike and said, ‘Aha! That’s what caused it.’”
Kelly added that all racers are methodical and that they have a very specific process prior to racing, which includes keeping a checklist on their vehicle’s status.
“We’ve had over 6,200 runs and only four incidents,” Kelly said. “Only two incidents required medical assistance. As far as injuries are concerned, land speed racing is extremely safe relative to other motor sports.”
According to the race director, the Loring land speed races will take place next year at the same time and place.
“We just want to thank the EMS guys and all the crew at Cary Medical,” Kelly said. “They did a fantastic job of responding and [Carver] couldn’t be in better hands.”