A 61-year-old man racing a go-kart was injured when the wheel on another go-kart broke off, bounced across the track and struck him in the head as he drove toward it.
The man, who hasn’t been identified, was air-lifted to a hospital with a head injury, said Jesse Hodgson, spokesman for Mountain View Fire Protection District.
The accident occurred this afternoon at IMI Motorsports, 5074 Weld County Road, near Dacono.
“We had a race going on and a rear tire broke off and rolled along the side of the track and bounced up into another driver going in the other direction,” said Brad Linkus, owner of the track.
The tire rolled for at least 150 feet before crossing to the other side of the 1-mile track and colliding with the 61-year-old Rich Vito of Longmont. He was wearing a helmet made for the sport, Linkus said.
The racers were driving go-karts equipped with TAG 125cc engines capable of reaching speeds of more than 80 miles per hour.
Wheels are held by three 8mm studs, said Linkus. “Looking at the hub, it looks like all three broke at the same time, but it is hard to re-enact the cause of the break.
“This was totally a freak accident,” he said. “Once in a while, people’s wheels do break off, but they never hit anybody. This was a strange deal.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
