Monster truck stunts go awry; 9 in crowd injured

A monster truck performing stunts in front of an auto parts store Thursday plowed into a crowd of spectators, injuring at least nine people, officials said.

Two people, including a mother and child, were hospitalized in serious condition, Fire Chief Lanny Russell said.

Seven others were in fair condition at another hospital, a spokeswoman said.

Another person refused medical treatment, Russell said.

As part of the demonstration in a monster truck tour sponsored by Napa Auto Parts, the truck drove over and crushed four cars.

“After its third or fourth attempt of rolling over the cars and getting back down to the street, it appeared to have lost control and at that point careened off to the left into part of the crowd that was watching the event,” City Manager Mark Biernacki said.

After plowing through the crowd, the truck went through a fence and stopped on a set of railroad tracks, Biernacki said.

Patrick Sheridan, 16, said Napa staff members had asked observers to stand back from the road after the truck’s first few passes.

“I watched the guy go over two or three times getting some air, and one time he went up and he came really close to hitting people,” Patrick said.

He added that the truck appeared to come within three feet of bystanders.

The final pass “was like a full-out jump because he floored it, and it just went up and landed on the back tires and kept going,” Patrick said.

“It sounded like he couldn’t get the gas off and like it kept going and going and going.”

The truck driver did not appear to be injured, Biernacki said.

“There was just this sound of steel crunching,” DeKalb resident James Vesely told the Daily Chronicle of DeKalb.

“I ran over to see if it hit anybody’s car, and I saw a woman and a little girl around 3 years old lying on the ground with dirt on them.”