10/28 Update: A woman who was struck during the drag racing crash that killed two children in Kerrville, Texas on October 23 has died from her injuries. Rebecca Cedillo, 46, died early Wednesday surrounded by family. Six-year-old Daniel Trujillo Jones and 8-year-old Santiago Martinez were identified as the two children who lost their lives. Kerrville police identified the driver as Michael Gonzales, 34, of Fort Worth.
Earlier: Two children were killed and eight people were injured when a vehicle went out of control and crashed into parked cars and spectators during a drag racing event an airfield in Texas on Saturday afternoon.
At approximately 3:20 p.m., the driver of a Ford Mustang reportedly lost control and careened into an area where spectators were watching “Airport Race Wars 2”, a no-prep racing event held on a temporary course at the Kerrville-Kerr County Airport in Kerrville, Texas, located about 65 miles Northwest of San Antonio.
One child, a 6-year-old boy, was pronounced dead at the scene, while a second, 8, succumbed to his injuries after being life-flighted to Peterson Regional Medical Center. Among those injured included a 46-year-old woman who is in critical condition, a 27-year-old woman in critical condition, a 26-year-old man whose condition is not known, and a 34-year-old man, identified as the driver, who is listed in stable condition. Two others were treated at the scene and released, and a 3-month-old girl and a 4-year-old boy were hospitalized “for precautionary evaluations,”according to police.
Race organizer Ross Dunagan cancelled the remainder of the event and reportedly donated the estimated $8,000 race purse to the victims and their families. Dunagan shared a video to social media on Saturday evening and asked people to “please pray for everyone involved,” adding, “Medical personnel are doing everything they can, and they’re taking care of the entire scene. So we cannot give any updates on anything. We’re taking care of it. The race is shut down.”
Eyewitness video of the crash shows the Mustang, racing in the right lane, smoking its rear tires the length of the course before turning hard left at the finish line, sliding across the track, and disappearing into the crowd just beyond the terminus of the water-filled plastic barriers lining the track.