Jim Pomeroy, 53; First U.S. Racer to Win a World Motocross Title

Jim Pomeroy, 53, the first U.S. motorcycle racer to win a World Championship Motocross event, was killed in a single-car accident Sunday near Tampico, Wash., about 20 miles west of his hometown of Yakima.

Pomeroy’s Jeep went off the road, hit a telephone pole guy wire and landed on its side, the Washington State Patrol said.

His 9-year-old daughter, Jamie, was treated at a hospital for minor injuries and released, troopers said in a news release.

The accident apparently was caused by driver inattention, investigators said.

Pomeroy was 20 when he became the first rider to win his debut world championship motocross, the Spanish Grand Prix in 1973. He also was the first U.S. racer to win a world Grand Prix event.

Pomeroy won many other top races before retiring from the tour in 1980. In 1999, the American Motorcyclist Assn. inducted him into the Motorcycle Hall of Fame.