The Bureau of Land Management, which owns the Mojave Desert lands where the fatal road race occurred will investigate whether the race promoter kept its own safety rules in running the event which killed eight spectators.
The safety rules of the promoter, Mojave Desert Racing of El Monte, CA, specified that spectators must stay 100 feet from the track and racing vehicles.
The contract between Mojave Desert Racing and the Bureau of Land Management required the promoter to keep spectators 50 feet away from the racing vehicles.
Clearly, neither the promoter's rules, nor the contract terms were adhered to as many spectators closely lined portions of the race route through the desert.
As I said in my earlier entry on this sorry event, 8 Dead in CA Desert Off-Road Truck Wreck the spectators assumed the risk of being proximate to the race course. When the course is 50 miles long, neither the race promoter, nor the land owner can be responsible for what spectators do. Any investigation, whether federal or by the California Highway Patrol, cannot escape that conclusion.
