Teen driver loses life in jet dragster accident

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In a tragic accident on Sunday, 17-year-old Canadian drag-racing protégé Kendall Hebert died when her jet-powered dragster crashed into a wall at Toronto Motorsport Park in the suburb of Cayuga, outside Hamilton, Ontario.

The accident occurred during a demonstration, not a race. The young Hebert had just finished a quarter-mile sprint down the track, reaching over 480 km/h (just under 300 mph) when the car inexplicably hit a concrete wall, sending the vehicle rolling and throwing its driver out of the cockpit. To make matters even worse, Kendall's family was in attendance and saw the crash that took their young daughter's life. According to provincial police, the event was also being broadcast over the internet.

(For those who have been following the news and might be wondering what made this accident fatal, while Top Gear's Richard Hammond is alive and recovering after a similar accident, the difference may lie in Kendall sadly having hit a wall directly, while Hammond rolled over grass, lessening the impact.)

Kendall came from a racing family; her father and sister both race competitively, and Kendall was looking forward to joining them after her 18th birthday, which she sadly never reached. Our condolences to the bereaved Hebert family.

(Our gratitude to Kevin for having sent us the sad news.)

[Source: the Toronto Sun]

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