Caught On Camera: Car Flips A Dozen Times At Nearly 200 MPH
TORRANCE (CBSLA.com) — A land speed racer lost control of his vehicle at nearly 200 miles per hour while attempting to set a world record over the weekend—and it was all caught on camera.
On Sunday, 55-year-old Brian Gillespie was eager to break his previous speed record at a racing event at El Mirage Dry Lake near Adelanto.
As he accelerated up to 185 mph, his Honda flipped at least a dozen times and nose-dived into the ground.
Debris flew everywhere. The car finally came to a stop on its roof.
Doug Macmillan, Gillespie's friend and crew chief, watched as emergency crews arrived on the scene.
"The biggest concern, of course, is not knowing the condition of the driver," he said.
Crews eventually flipped over the car and saw Gillespie.
"It was really heartening to see that the driver, Brian, my friend, was indicating, as soon as the car had come to a stop, he was waving with his hand upside-down, saying, "Hey, I'm OK,'" Macmillan said.
Gillespie had to be cut out of the car. He suffered a concussion, a collapsed lung, a gash on his leg and a lot of bruising.
Macmillan credited the survivability of the accident to the equipment and the roll cage Gillespie was in.
"The safety equipment that we put into our vehicles is very, very extensive. And he's very well strapped in. Some of the comments we had back from the officials is that they've never heard someone talk so much after an accident," he said.
Gillespie is now recovering back at his home in Phoenix. He told CBS2's Rachel Kim via phone that he has no memory of what happened.
