Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: dirtonly  /  dmantx  /  hosehead

During the B main tonight, he suffered an apparent heartattack during a caution period for a spin on the start. The racecar veered off into the infield striking the center lightpole before coming to a rest against the old scoring tower. Numerous folks performed CPR on him while Lifecare Ambulance was enroute from Coldwater to transport him to the hospital. Yes ... I said enroute from Coldwater -- 20+ minutes away.

The sad/scary thing here is that Butler did not have an official, working, fully-equipped ambulance on the premises. After an impromptu driver's meeting, the rest of the evening's races were canceled.

From what I've been told, Corey is going to need all the prayers that he can get...

I'm trying to stay off of my safety soap box, but when there is not an ambulance onsite that is capable of transport, I don't know why you would even fire your car...at least the "medics" knew how to perform CPR, because they had to do it for an extended period of time while they waited on an ambulance that could transport Corey.

Marie A. Osborn
MO Communications

Prayers out to Corey

After being transported to Coldwater, they were life flighting him (to Kalamazoo I think).

.

Another fine chapter in Butler history. This new owner needs to be strung up from the nearest tree. Prayers to Corey and family!!

Former Owner/President of FAST and Black Swamp Media
Group. Currently just another fan in the stands.

Here is the update from the Butler Speedway website...take note that there is a contact button on the website...they already have an email from me.

Marie A. Osborn
MO Communications

There was an ambulance on hand. I can't speak to how it was equipped or staffed, but if Corey makes it through, he'll have those people to thank (I assume it was them that was doing the CPR). I have been at other serious incidents at Butler (and other tracks) where outside help was called in a bad situation.
This was very unfortunate, but please don't blame the ambulance crew or the track. Prayers for Corey.

Jim Fisher

www.fscpictorial.com

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Thanks fish WELL SAID

after losing one of my friends at a race track to heart issues, in the presence of trained emergency room nurses, I can just say that God makes his calling on his schedule, not ours.

My prayers go out to Cory and his family, as well as everybody involved.

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There is NO excuse for a track not having trained EMT's on staff for any racing event and an ambulance capable of transporting an injured driver to the hospital in an emergency situation. This is a dangerous sport and things tend to occasionally go very wrong. Not being prepared for those situations is unacceptable at ANY facility. Having a "dummy" ambulance on site not able to transport a patient to the hospital and having to WAIT for one to come from 20 minutes away is highly unacceptable. I hope the Butler weekly racers take that into consideration before strapping into the seat again up there.

Keep Corey in your thoughts and prayers.

Former Owner/President of FAST and Black Swamp Media
Group. Currently just another fan in the stands.

I do not blame the ambulance crew, I wholeheartedly believe they kept him alive waiting for the ambulance.

However, blame lies with the track. Had their "ambulance" that was on site been capable of transporting a patient, the EMT's that were there would not have had to perform CPR for so long while waiting for a "real" ambulance to show up. There is simply no excuse for not having a transport-capable ambulance on site.

Swamp, for once I agree with you...

Marie A. Osborn
MO Communications

Update from Butler-Speedway.com

Marie A. Osborn
MO Communications

It was Corey's wife and an unknown person, who came forward from the stands, that were performing CPR on him. I am fully aware of the fact that God calls us home according to his time and schedule whether we are ready or not. However, there just is NO acceptable excuse for not having a fully-equipped ambulance at the track ready to transport in a life and death situation, where the first few minutes are so critical. Precious minutes were wasted waiting for another ambulance to arrive, load, and transport Corey to a hospital a good 20 minutes away.

Plus, this is the same track (albeit different owner) that had a fatality from a fuel explosion and horrific fire not even a couple years ago. They obviously didn't learn anything from that tragedy as there STILL isn't access to water anywhere in the pits or near the fuel barn. Nevertheless, the time is NOW for the drivers to band together and demand proper safety procedures be followed consistently at Butler or any track for that matter. No car should ever be fired without proper fire and rescue personnel on the scene ready to respond at a moment's notice.

PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU BUDDY FROM EVERYONE FROM TEXAS.

there ambulance wasnt street llegal and didnt even have an oxygen mask for the guy

if im ever hurt there just strap me on the back of a motorcycle and get me to a hospital

Were the EMT's really trained or did they just stay at a Holiday Inn Express the night before? Unbelievable.

Former Owner/President of FAST and Black Swamp Media
Group. Currently just another fan in the stands.

I'll be praying for Corey & his family.

As for the track....An ambulance that is NOT STREET LEGAL????? If that is true it has to rank as the STUPIDEST thing I have ever heard.

By defenition "An ambulance is a vehicle for transporting sick or injured people."

Well, tonight I had an extremely eye opening conversation with the president of a prominent Midwest sprint car organization who also happens to sell insurance to tracks.  Apparently, having an ambulance that cannot transport patients is common practice.  Some ambulances are not fully equiped, and some EMTs are not "on duty", so they are limmited in what services they can perform.  I was even told of one track that does not have an ambulance on site, because it is across the street from a hospital!!!!!! 

This is deffinately something that needs to be addressed!!!

First, best wishes and get well to Corey. I was shocked to hear about this, as Corey can't be older than 40. His team and family are nice people and have supported Butler for a long time.

Second, I'm glad I was not at the track shooting video on this night.

Finally, I have been to a few tracks that only had an EMS crew, no ambulance. I have also seen ambulances that don't run, and one that went up in smoke when it was started following a red flag. I am also still amazed when an ambulance does not move following a crash, it should be on it's way to the scene as soon as safely possible. I don't know what the legality is here, but drivers and sanctioning bodies are going to have to step up to improve this, because obviously track owners are not going to do it.

Corey is 32 years old according to his myspace site ... http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=173737428

The following is copied from a post by EMT398racefan that appeared on TJ Slideways Message Board:

Prayers to Corey and his family. My family said a prayer for him in church this AM.

Butler speedway should have had a properly staffed ambulance for the track. Being a paramedic for 22 years in michigan and having worked for 15 years at butler when they used to contract for an ambulance. It was a matter of time before something bad happened. The law in Michigan states every ambulance must be licensed by the State and be annually inspected. There is a list for equipment that must be carried on each ambulance and an AED is a critical element. The equipment butler had in its ambulance was not sufficient. Most likely they are not licensed and this is why the butler ambulance did not transport. Being one of the individuals who came from the stands and helped resuscitate Corey, the others were doing great CPR they just did not have all the appropriate equiment at their disposal. Hopefully this will be a wake up call for everyone at butler.