Stunt truck with jet engines crashes at Michigan air present, killing driver

July 3, 2022

In a press release, Battle Creek police recognized Chris Darnell, 40, as the driving force of the SHOCKWAVE Jet Truck, a custom-built semitruck geared up with three jet engines, which was racing down the runway on the Battle Creek Government Airport at greater than 300 miles per hour.

The accident occurred round 1:10 p.m. “through the pyrotechnic portion” of the present on the Battle Creek Area of Flight Air Present and Balloon Competition, police mentioned earlier.

Video shot by air present attendee Mike Westra confirmed the truck racing two planes, dashing down the runway earlier than spinning and crashing. One other video reveals a parachute deploying behind the truck proper earlier than the crash.

A thick plume of black smoke and fireplace seen within the movies had been a part of the present’s pyrotechnic show and never associated to the accident, Westra informed CNN. Within the movies, the smoke and fireplace are seen earlier than the truck loses management.

Emergency responders had been on the airport on standby and shortly responded, Westra mentioned. “Inside a minute or two they had been placing water on the hearth,” Westra added.

Westra noticed the charred wreckage as soon as the hearth was put out, he mentioned, telling CNN, “It got here to relaxation the wrong way up.”

The accident is beneath investigation by the police division and the Battle Creek Fireplace Division, police mentioned.

The rest of the air present Saturday was canceled following the crash, in keeping with a submit on the competition’s Fb web page.

The SHOCKWAVE Jet Truck is able to reaching speeds in extra of 350 miles per hour, in keeping with the corporate’s web site. Per the positioning, the truck was pushed by Darnell and owned by Darnell Racing Enterprises of Springfield, Missouri.

In a press release, Darnell’s father, Neal Darnell, confirmed his youngest son had died, writing the accident occurred “because of mechanical failure.”

“We’re so unhappy,” Neal Darnell wrote. “Only one month in the past Chris turned 40. He was so properly liked by everybody who knew him. Chris so liked the Air Present enterprise.”

CNN’s Sara Good contributed to this report.