Courtesy: US 131 Motorsports Park
MARTIN, Mich. (WZZM)-- A 22-year-old New York man died after crashing his snowmobile into the concrete guardrail at US 131 Motorsports Park in Martin.
Dan Cerio of Manilus, New York died from injuries he received during the eliminations race Saturday night. Those who witnessed it, say there was nothing that could be done, to save him. "He went through the traps at 150 miles an hour," says Jason Peterson, General Manager at the track. He was watching from the main tower.
The event was part of the Outlaw Snowmobile Series where the drivers race on asphalt. Cerio was said to be wearing the required protective gear. "What appeared to happen at finish line, Dan's snowmobile had some sort of engine failure, I don't know what, but there was a puff of smoke and the snowmobile veered off and impacted the left wall."
Those walls are meant to protect spectators from flying debris. But, at 150-170 miles an hour, it meant little chance of survival for Cerio. "As soon as it happened, I ran down. I knew it was bad. I've had experience seeing wrecks, seeing accidents. We knew it was bad."
Peterson says they immediately called 911 and two of their own paramedics headed down to the crash. Nothing could be done. "There's nothing that can be changed. It was a freak, unfortunate accident."
Since the safety barriers were in place and the cause of the crash appeared to be mechanical, Peterson says there will be no changes to the drag strip. The next race will go on as scheduled, the first weekend in June.