Ban on Irvine Lake Racing Sought in Wake of Death

One day after a runaway boat killed a 9-year-old girl on the shore at Irvine Lake, Orange County Supervisor Bruce Nestande called Monday for revoking the drag boat racing permit unless race operators can prove the events can be conducted safely.

Nestande cited a history of injuries and three fatalities that have occurred since drag boat racing started at the lake in 1982.

“The history of accidents . . . at this facility indicates that the . . . permit should be terminated,” he said.

Meanwhile, Peter Doyle, an attorney for the National Drag Boat Assn., which sanctioned the weekend race, said an inspection by a marine safety expert hired by the association showed two metal connecting devices called Woodruff keys in the steering box had broken off, disconnecting the boat’s steering system and leaving the driver unable to control the craft.

A routine pre-race inspection conducted the day before the accident by association officials would not have detected the problem, he said.

“The steering box failed,” Doyle said, adding that it is uncommon for such a failure to happen and it is unknown why or at what point during the race the gear keys broke.

The expert hired by the association, Jack Riggleman of Memphis, Tenn., said, “We want to do an analysis of the keys and find out why they sheared.”

“It was obvious that the driver was not able to control the boat,” Riggleman said. “I don’t know of anything he could have done, because he did not have (steering).”

Doyle said the association will fight to retain racing privileges at the lake if county officials attempt to revoke the racing permit.

Doyle said the Sheriff’s Department found the incident to be an accidental death, which he said was consistent with the analysis by the marine safety expert. A sheriff’s spokesman late Monday said no official result of the department’s investigation was available, though earlier a spokesman said the matter was being investigated as an accident.

Nestande’s proposal to cancel drag boat racing at the lake drew support from the Irvine Co., which owns the land surrounding the lake and leases the property to concessionaires who contract with race operators.

Support for County Findings

“In view of the tragic events over the weekend,” said Irvine Co. President Thomas H. Nielsen, “we think that reconsideration of the recreational use permit by the county is certainly appropriate, and we would support whatever findings the county staff makes.”

“We will discuss the whole issue with the lessees in an effort to determine whether this kind of recreational activity can be made safer, and if not, we would cancel any upcoming racing event,” Nielsen said. “Under the lease arrangement, we have the authority to do that.”

Another race sanctioned by the National Drag Boat Assn. is scheduled for June 22 and 23.

James Lange of Simi Valley, driver of High Anxiety, the 1,200-horsepower boat that killed Brandy Branchflower of Burbank, could not be reached for comment.

But National Drag Boat Assn. treasurer Frank Dade, who described himself as a personal friend of Lange, said the driver was “emotionally quite upset” after the accident.

“I had dinner with him” after the accident, Dade said. “I’ve known him since he started driving seven or eight years ago. This is the second year he’s been running that boat . . . the only one he designed and built. The boat’s made some beautiful runs.

“He said he had the steering . . . turned as far as it would go and it wouldn’t (respond),” Dade said. He added that Lange had never before been involved in a racing accident.

Lake Safety Issue

Despite some drag boat drivers criticizing racing conditions as unsafe at the lake, spokesmen for the drag race association maintained Monday that Irvine Lake is safer than many lakes where identical races are held.

The racing association requires that the “shut-down area”--that portion of the lake beyond the finish line where boats slow down--must be 2,000 feet long, according to Dade. The length of the shut-down area at Irvine Lake is 2,400 feet, he said.

Dade, who was entered as a competitor Sunday in the same category as Lange, said water conditions were “excellent” with a “breezy” wind that was did not affect maneuverability.

After a similar accident in 1983 when a boat veered from course and ran ashore injuring several on-lookers, the association decided to install fencing to protect spectators, Dale said.

But the fencing Sunday extended only about 100 yards beyond the finish line. Brandy Branchflower and her family were seated along the shore beyond the end of the fence.

Dale said that if the association is permitted to hold its June 22 and 23 races, installing fences farther down the shore “will be a consideration.”

In 1982 the Orange County Planning Commission granted a permit to conduct one boat race at the lake. Despite an accident during that race in which a driver was injured, the commission unanimously granted a five-year permit to Doug Elliott and Irvine Boat and Tackle to hold six races a year at the lake, according to spokesmen for Nestande’s office and county planners.

‘Inherently Unsafe’

Tim Neely, head of the county’s planning division, said that the consensus among commissioners after the first accident was that “drag boat racing was inherently unsafe, especially for the drivers.”

As a result, he said, commissioners required that the race promoters provide emergency medical services, including a medical helicopter, which were available Sunday.

If county officials decided following today’s inspection of the lake that racing cannot be safely conducted, the permit can be revoked by Environmental Management Agency Director Murray Storm, according to Ernie Schneider, an aide to Nestande.

“My initial reaction,” Nestande said Monday, “is it is not a safe facility for this type of high-speed racing. The burden is going to be on those who want to maintain this activity to prove it can be done safely.”

The association Monday flew in the Memphis, Tenn., marine architect and boating safety expert to inspect the 1,200-horsepower racing craft. A Sacramento firm also was hired to take aerial photos of the lake to document the size of the course, which provides more room between racing boats and spectators than is required by the association’s standards, according to Doyle and Dade.

Riggleman, the expert hired by the association, was joined by Orange County sheriff’s investigators in examining the boat. A sheriff’s spokesman said the matter was being “investigated as an accident” and not a criminal matter.

An inspector from the county’s Environmental Management Agency is scheduled to visit the lake today and report within a week to Nestande on whether the permit should be canceled or continued with added safeguards, county spokesmen said. Nestande intends to accompany the inspector to the lake, his office said.

The impact of the boat, which was traveling about 45 m.p.h. when it hit the beach, threw Brandy Branchflower, 9, of Burbank, about 50 feet. Her body was severed and she died instantly, authorities said. An unidentified woman also was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Times staff writers David Reyes and Mike DiGiovanna contributed to this story.