Fatal Monster Truck Incidents (2024)

This page is a list of Fatal Monster Truck incidents. Please note that fatal accidents are quite rare in the Monster Truck industry, as such incidents have led to promoters creating new safety restrictions to prevent them from ever happening again.

Bad Medicine[]

At a 1992 USHRA race at the Niagara Falls Convention Center in Niagara Falls, New York, the truck Bad Medicine was racing Taurus. After landing the truck veered off across the track, then went over a bit of the railing in the stands and the tire crushed Lester Gilliam, who pushed a little boy out of the way in order to spare him. The cause was that driver Don Van Loo was knocked unconscious and the right rear tire's bead cracked. Note that a similar, non-fatal incident occurred a year prior in Oklahoma City when the truck hit a wall at full speed, making Bad Medicine one of the most infamous and controversial trucks of all time.

Over Excited[]

Three months after the Niagara Falls incident, a similar one occurred at Galesburg Raceway in Michigan where the driver was knocked unconscious after hitting a set of crush cars very hard. The truck veered out of control, hit a parked car, and then crashed into the grandstands, striking 6-year-old Todd Abbott, who was standing in the aisle at the time.

Monster Patrol[]

On July 24, 1994, at an event in Claremore, Oklahoma, Tom Meents in Monster Patrol lost control of the truck after the throttle stuck upon landing off of a set of cars. The truck, unable to stop, crashed through a set of hay bales and fencing, before rolling into the pit area, where crew members were standing. 5 people were injured in the accident, and 39-year-old fellow monster truck driver Mike Hickerson was killed in the accident.[1]

Radioactive[]

At the Eastern Idaho State Fairgrounds, Radioactive lost control after jumping 2 obstacles, and rolled over into a fence, landing on some of the spectators. 14-year-old amateur motorcyclist Riley Jo Monroe was fatally pinned by the truck and was pronounced dead shortly after the accident. Greg Winchendach blamed the accident on mechanical issues after the RII failed to shut off the truck.[2]

Miami 1997[]

While this accident wasn't caused by a monster truck, at a Monster Jam event in 1997 at Miami, a stunt bike driver named Corey Scott was killed after an attempted stunt failed. He jumped at a vertical net, but rather than land on and grab it, he ended up bouncing off the net, and fell nearly 3 stories (60 feet) to his death. This incident was a main reason why Miami shows were not televised until 2012.

Natural High[]

On January 16th, 2009, at the Tacoma Dome in Washington, the truck Natural High was freestyling. Around the end of its run, a piece of the driveshaft came out, flew into the stands and struck a forty-year-old man and a six-year-old named Sebastian Hizey. Sebastian died the following day while the man recovered. This incident would lead to mandatory colored driveshaft loops, SIR's driveshaft blanket system and was rumored to be the reason that the Captain's Curse racing crash from that year's World Finals has never been shown in official footage, in order to not garner any more controversy. Natural High was immediately retired following the incident.

Samson[]

On January 24th, 2009, at a Monster Nationals event in in Madison, Wisconsin, after a race between Samson and Holman's Beast, Dan Patrick was driving the truck back into the pits when announcer George Eisenhart stepped out from a barrier and onto the track. Patrick did not see Eisenhart as he was beyond the truck's field of vision, and he was struck by the tire fatally.

Unlike most of these incidents, this one was not seen as an error on the truck's part, as it was impossible for Patrick to see Eisenhart before he stepped on the track. It is believed George had come out to end racing and did not see Patrick.

A more detailed description of the accident can be found here.

Big Show[]

In October of 2013 in Chihuahua, Mexico, the truck Big Show (formerly Fly-N-Hi) was performing in a Demolition Show Tours exhibition as part of the Extremo Aeroshow Festival in Chihuahua, Mexico. During the exhibition, the truck lost control and drove straight into the audience, killing nine people including four children and injuring eighty, making it the deadliest monster truck incident in the industry. The announcer of the show would frantically yell out "emergency". Velazquez claimed that he lost his helmet during the jump and hit his head on metal bars and lost consciousness. Following toxicology reports, it was later discovered that Samaniego had a blood alcohol level of 0.10. Velazquez was criticized by the show organizers as they said that Velazquez had preformed the stunt in the wrong direction; however, the event did not have proper safety precautions and the driver was rumored to be under the influence of alcohol. The event was not MTRA certified, so many safety precautions were unaccounted for.

Eurol's King on Wheels[]

On September 25th, 2014, in the Netherlands, the truck Eurol's King on Wheels (formerly Extreme Overkill and American Cowboy) had a similar incident as Big Show, killing five and injuring dozens. The cause was again lack of safety precautions, the brakes were reportedly not working, and no one was carrying a Remote Ignition Interrupter to stop the truck. The driver was reportedly charged with manslaughter.

Terra Bus Rollover Incident[]

On July 18th, 2020, a Terra Bus ride truck, operated by Brewster Inc. and known as "Ice Explorers" in Brewster service, was involved in an accident while on a tour in Canada. The truck veered off of the trail while on a hillside, resulting in the bus tipping over the side of the hill, and tumbling down it, coming to a stop at the bottom upside down.

As of December 9th, 2022^[1], 3 people were killed in the accident, and 24 people were injured, 14 of which were life-threatening. The company pleaded guilty to two counts under Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Act, and paid $475,000 in penalties.

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