Tragedy at US Road Race - Fatal Crash in Wooded Stretch of Track
A competitor was killed in a crash on the first day of a rally race through a forest in western Maine, leading organizers to cancel the event’s second day.
Erin Kelly, a 48-year-old woman from Marshall, Virginia, was killed Friday when her team’s car crashed near Lower Richardson Lake during the New England Forest Rally, where vehicles race along rural backroads and logging tracks near Maine’s border with New Hampshire, WMTW-TV reported.
On her LinkedIn page, Kelly wrote that she had been navigating cars part-time as a hobby for the Pullen Away Rally Team since 2015.
Following Erin Kelly’s tragic passing, New England Forest Rally has been called offhttps://t.co/xiDYlsB2HK
— DirtFish (@DirtFishRally) July 15, 2023
In rally racing, navigators sit next to the drivers and read out course notes such as when to expect turns.
The team, which says on its Facebook page that it is based in Northwood, New Hampshire, didn’t immediately respond to a Facebook message or email seeking further information about the crash.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash, which a photo published by WMTW-TV shows wrecked the car.
The Oxford County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment.
The American Rally Association, which sanctioned the race, said in a statement Saturday that the New England Forest Rally decided to cancel the rest of the event.
“The American Rally Association is deeply saddened to announce the death of competitor and champion co-driver Erin Kelly, who passed away on Friday during competition at the New England Forest Rally in upstate Maine,” the statement reads.
The statement adds that the “incident occurred on the final stage of the competition on Friday just outside Bethel, Maine. Kelly was co-driving with her long-time driver and rally partner, TJ Pullen, at the time of the incident. The 47-year-old Kelly and Pullen had rallied together for several years and won the 2018 ARA East Regional NA4WD championship.”
“Our focus right now is on Erin, TJ, and their families,” said ARA Series Director Preston Osborn.
“Erin was an accomplished co-driver and a well-loved member of our rally community,” Osborn added. “We send our deepest condolences to her family, friends, and our competitors and fans.”
The lake is about 35 miles north of Newry, in northwestern Maine.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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