A pedestrian walkway "collapsed" Saturday night at
Lowe's Motor Speedway (LMS) near Charlotte after The
Winston, "injuring race fans as they left the track,"
according to Green, Poole, Utter & Whitmire of the CHARLOTTE
OBSERVER. LMS/SMI President Humpy Wheeler said that 50-75
people were injured after the accident, which occurred
around 11:15pm ET, just after the race had ended. The
collapsed section was about 100 feet of a 400-foot-long
pedestrian bridge, built in '95, which sits above U.S. 29
outside the speedway. About 170,000 people attended the
event Saturday night, which kicks off Speed Week in
Charlotte leading up to this weekend's Coca-Cola 600.
(CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/21). NC bridge inspectors noticed
that "crucial steel cables had corroded inside the
pedestrian bridge" after examining the collapsed section
yesterday. NC Department of Transportation Assistant Bridge
Inspection Engineer Don Idol: "It's still very early, but my
initial reaction is that these cables were exposed to
moisture and they became corroded. That would have weakened
the bridge." The investigation now will center around "why
the steel corroded." Wheeler: "It's much, much too early
right now to come to any conclusion about what happened.
We're trying to keep an open mind about everything. ...
We've had excellent architects, excellent engineers, a full-
time maintenance staff. I feel like [LMS] is very safe."
The accident marks the "third consecutive May in which
speedway fans died or were injured in accidents." In May
'98, four race fans died when their helicopter crashed after
leaving the Coca-Cola 600, and last year, three fans were
killed at LMS when a tire spun off a car at an IRL race.
Meanwhile, as of last night, 107 people were reported
injured in the collapse, and 53 were still hospitalized
(CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/22). NBC's "Today" led its first
half-hour this morning with Katie Couric interviewing Idol,
who was at the accident site. Idol noted that the bridge is
owned by LMS, which is "responsible for its maintenance and
inspection" (NBC, 5/22). Wheeler: "Of course, we are
concerned after the three incidents that happened here.
This is the worst thing you go through with one of these
things when spectators get hurt" (ATL. CONSTITUTION, 5/22).
THE RACE MUST GO ON: In Charlotte, David Scott writes
that the bridge collapse "isn't likely to affect [LMS']
schedule as it gears up for this weekend's Coca-Cola 600."
Wheeler: "We're going to go on. We've got about 170,000
people, many of whom are already here, who we've already
made commitments to. That's not taking anything away from
our concern for those who were injured, or our investigation
(into the collapse)." But another pedestrian bridge near
the collapsed walkway "will not be used" this weekend
"unless it passes safety tests" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 5/22).
