LONGVIEW, Texas – A NASCAR hauler driver was killed and four others were injured early Tuesday in a crash along Interstate 20 in East Texas.
According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, the team transporter for David Gilliand Racing was traveling westbound when driver Steven Stotts, 54, smashed into the back of a small box trailer being hauled by a westbound Honda SUV.
An accident report stated that after the collision, the hauler’s rig rolled onto its side into the center median, causing the trailer to “vault over the concrete barrier into the eastbound lane.”
The rig then caught fire, which spread to the front of the trailer.
The report noted that the Honda also traveled into the median, struck the concrete barrier and caught fire. The driver was taken to an area hospital in stable condition. Two passengers in the hauler, John P. Zaverl, 38, and Michael Mizzelle, 45, were taken to the hospital and are listed in stable condition.
The hauler was heading to Arizona for the ARCA Menards Series Friday night event at Phoenix Raceway.
The ARCA Menards Series is an American stock car series, the premier division of the Automobile Racing Club of America (ARCA). It is considered a minor, semi-professional league of stock car racing, used as a feeder series into the three national touring series of NASCAR.
“We are deeply saddened to confirm the passing of Steven Stotts,” team officials said on Twitter. “Our deepest sympathies go out to Steven’s family and friends.”
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