There was an incident at the Willow Springs 2.5 Trans Am event this weekend. Two
drivers were injured when they came together in a bad dust cloud caused by
off-track excursions of several cars including one of the cars involved in the
incident. Anyway, one of the injured drivers was a 510 driver, John Peterson.
The other was VW driver Eric Roberts. Both drivers are doing okay but both cars
were damaged beyond repair. John has a broken foot and some bruises. Eric was
more severely injured. Eric's injuries are due partly to improper seat belt
mounting. Here is part of the report being sent to VSRG members;
4. Eric Roberts came out of turn 9 at speed and entered the dust cloud on the
front straight and contacted Peterson's car at approximately 45 degrees on the
right front of the car (near head on).
5. Peterson's safety equipment functioned properly.
6. Robert's safety equipment (installation) appears to have failed which caused
Eric to hit the windshield. Safety investigators and paramedics indicate that
it appears that Eric was not restrained by his shoulder harness upon impact.
Apparently his harness installation did not go though the back of his seat
rather it went around the outside due to seat design. This placed the shoulder
harness across his shoulder/arm joints rather that his collar bone and formed a
"V" shape. This allowed his upper body to be ejected out of the shoulder
harness
on impact. He was also wearing an open face helmet which contributed greatly to
his injuries.
I mention this because many folks run a similar setup in their street/track cars
and might want to rethink things. Also I thought folks might want to send John a
card or something. John is a great guy who managed to run a very nicely prepared
car all last season without spending the farm to do so. He has been the
embodiment of the 510 racer.
Since I haven't had a chance to get permission to give out John's address, I
will be happy to relay any and all get well wishes to him. Just email them to me
and I'll pass them on. I know support from the 510 community will go a long ways
towards lifting John's spirits.
--
Marc Sayer
82 280ZXT
71 510 2.5 Trans Am vintage racer
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