Racer Involved in Fatal Crash Could Face Severe Sanctions

The governing body for the off-road racing desert series that featured the Baja 500 is expected to impose sanctions today against Jason Baldwin, which could include disqualification, suspension or both.

Baldwin, 29, of Laguna Beach, crashed his Trophy Truck into a crowd of spectators Saturday at a popular viewing point 2.1 miles into the 447.6-mile race in Baja California.

According to Dominick Clark, a spokesman for SCORE International, the governing body, Baldwin was charged by Mexican federal police with reckless driving and using excessive speed in the accident that killed Luis Alberto Valdez. Baldwin has an upcoming court date in Mexico.

Baldwin, who is with his family, continues to recover from neck and back injuries.

The crash injured eight, including three U.S. spectators who were taken to San Diego-area hospitals. All have since been released.

The most seriously injured was Craig Stewart of Santee, who had brain surgery to remove a blood clot. He was released from UCSD Medical Center on Tuesday. His wife, Sherrie, was also injured.

Stewart is the son of legendary off-road driving star Ivan “Ironman” Stewart, who won Saturday in the featured Trophy Trucks class, which included Baldwin.

“Every part of the Baja 500 is tricky,” Ivan Stewart said. “No bump, turn, or ditch is the same and you try to get as much of an advantage as you can. Unfortunately, where Jason lost control, there were spectators there. It certainly wasn’t intentional.

“I personally don’t hold anything against Jason. It’s part of racing.”

However, Stewart, who has raced in 27 of the 30 Baja 500s and won seven of the last nine, said Wednesday he will not compete again in the race that made him famous.

He will, instead, concentrate on trying to make the race safer.

“I had visualized for years that one of these days, one of these trucks was going to barrel roll into the crowd,” Stewart said. “Unfortunately, it got my son and daughter-in-law.

“I’m not placing blame on anybody. Especially in Mexico, we need to look at crowd control. People should never stand on the outside of the corner. My son is very aware of where to stand, but until that first car goes by, you don’t know how much dust is going to blow, how fast they’re going to be going, the conditions. . . . They got hit because they had their backs turned to the dust.”

Coincidentally, Stewart started third in the order and was the first competitor to drive past the accident site. He did not know the severity of his son’s injuries during the race.

Baldwin lost control of his vehicle as it went over a mound while approaching the Tecate Highway crossing. Instead of clearing the mound and making a left turn onto the highway and a quick right to continue onward, Baldwin, with co-driver Mike Laughlin, lost control of the truck and it rolled over into an unprotected crowd.

“It’s in SCORE race guidelines that you must drive with caution in designated spectator areas and road crossings,” Clark said. “I realize that can be somewhat open-ended. Caution for you or me might be 10 mph, and for Ivan Stewart it might be 80 mph.

“This was a part of the course that has been used many times in the 30-year history of that event, and the exact same road crossing was used last year, that [Baldwin] raced in. An excuse that he didn’t know that turn was coming would be utterly invalid.”

Clark said the Competition Review Board will determine the sanctions.

Mere disqualification seems unlikely, since it simply means Baldwin, who did not finish, will not receive points from the race.

Should Baldwin be suspended, he will be the first driver in more than five years to face such sanctions, according to Clark, who was unsure about any SCORE sanctions prior to that.

The crash, Clark said, took place at “the first location off the start line with easy access to watch the vehicles go by--it’s the first road crossing.”

Clark disputed Mexican police’s earlier claims that Baldwin was going 100 mph.

“From all appearances, he seemed to be going faster than was safe, especially at a road crossing like that,” Clark said from his Las Vegas office. “By the terrain that’s involved there, it would be extremely unlikely for a race truck to be going 100 mph in that area. There’s too many rocks and things to slow you down.

“We have no valid guestimates on how fast he was going.”