Dana Point TV Cameraman Dies Taping Race

A television cameraman from Dana Point was killed Friday as he was filming a truck race in the Mojave Desert when a truck left the track, crashing into him.

Mark Gleckl, 40, was videotaping the SCORE Tecate Trophy Truck feature of the Fireworks 250, an annual July 4 race, when two drivers entered a sweeping right turn on a deeply rutted road. The rough terrain apparently caused the two vehicles to slightly bump, sending one truck lurching through a spectator fence, where it struck Gleckl.

“It looked like he went down with the viewfinder still in his eye,” said race spokesman Deke Houlgate. “The camera was smashed to bits. He was knocked about 100 feet.”

Gleckl was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead.

About 300 spectators were near the crash site, but no one else was injured, Houlgate said.

Evans was not injured in the crash. “But he’s in deep shock. He could hardly talk,” Houlgate said.

Houlgate said race officials planned to conduct an investigation to see if the drivers broke any racing rules.

Gleckl specialized in action sports such as racing, said Mark Johnson, a close friend who had known Gleckl for about 15 years.

“He was a very successful individual,” Johnson said. “He shot for every major network, and worked for all the top cable networks.”

Gleckl, who was both unit producer and camera operator, was videotaping for a show to be broadcast later on ESPN. He also had owned a Dana Point production company for 10 years. Johnson added that Gleckl had just signed a contract to work on the 1996 Olympics.

An avid motor sports fan and racer, Gleckl had won his first Shifter Cart race last Sunday in Perris, Johnson said.

He and his wife Maria, 39, were to celebrate their 19th anniversary Sunday. He is survived by Maria and their two children, Amy, who is 18 months old, and Anthony, 5.