4 Members of Elliott’s Crew Injured In Pit Row Accident at Riverside

Four members of Bill Elliott’s crew were injured and hospitalized in a pit row accident Sunday during the Winston Western 500.

Chuck Hill, 22, and a neighbor of Elliott’s in Dawsonville, Ga., was the most seriously injured in the five-car crash. His spleen was removed and minor tears to his liver were repaired in an operation at Riverside Community Hospital.

Hill’s hip was also dislocated and his right arm broken. His condition was listed as critical but stable.

Steve Colwell, 35, the crew’s jack man from Blairsville, Ga., had a broken jaw, lacerated chin and fractured right knee.

Butch Stevens, 36, a tire carrier from Charlotte, N.C., had three fractures of his knee.

Dan Elliott, Bill’s younger brother, had a bruised right shoulder and bruised right leg. Elliott and Hill were both changing tires when the accident happened.

The accident was triggered when the engine blew on Hershel McGriff’s car on lap 8, bringing out the first caution flag of the race. All of the leaders immediately raced into the pits for fuel and a change of tires.

Elliott, in fifth place, was one of the first in. His car was already up on the jack when Mike Waltrip, who was pitted nearby, slowed to stop at his pit. Before he could turn in, he was hit from the rear by Jim Robinson.

The impact caused Waltrip’s Chevrolet to spin sideways, hitting Elliott’s crew members and blocking pit row.

Surprisingly, Elliott’s Ford was not hit.

Bobby Hillin and Joe Ruttman tangled while trying to stop, which caused race officials to close pit row while they tried to extricate the cars.

All of the cars were able to continue although some were noticeably battered.

When Elliott pitted during the remainder of the race, members of Terry Labonte’s and Darrell Waltrip’s crews filled in for the injured crewmen.