Worker Is Killed at Daytona

A worker at Daytona International Speedway was struck and killed by a paraplegic driver going more than 100 mph during a race for compact cars Sunday.

The worker, 44-year-old Roy H. Weaver III, was standing in the middle of the track picking up debris during a caution period when he was hit by a car driven by Ray Paprota of Birmingham, Ala., track spokesman David Talley said.

Paprota, who doesn’t have use of his legs and drives a car equipped with hand controls, was trying to catch the main pack of cars after a two-car crash at the opposite end of the track brought out a yellow flag. Weaver was struck in turn two on the 2 1/2-mile tri-oval.

“The worker was standing right in the middle of the track when he hit him,” said Jeff Tillman, who was behind Paprota when the accident occurred. “It flipped him over the car.”

Several drivers said Weaver’s body already was covered by a tarp as they continued to circle the track under a yellow flag.

Eventually, the IPOWERacing 150 was red-flagged for about 1 1/2 hours, finally running to the finish under the lights after police investigated the scene and took pictures of Paprota’s car in the garage.

Paprota, who lost use of his legs in a 1984 car wreck, was loaded into a wheelchair-accessible van and left the track without discussing the accident with reporters.

Weaver, the supervisor of the track crew, had been with the speedway for seven years.

He was the 36th person to die during an event at Daytona -- the first since Bryan Cassell was killed while practicing for a motorcycle race on Oct. 18.