Drag race driver who crashed admits he’s lucky to be alive
It started as a simple Saturday drag race.
A type of race Kelly Harvey had driven countless times before.
“It’s like street racing, but it’s in a safe environment, go as fast as you can,” Harvey said.
But within seconds, something went wrong. The car lost control and flipped.
Stunned spectators feared the worst as they saw Harvey’s legs out of the windshield.
But then the miracle: he walked out of the car virtually unscathed.
“I don’t know, it just went a little bit too far, a little too much, a little too fast on me,” he said. “I couldn’t correct it.”
Harvey knows there’s a risk and took the precautions. He had a helmet on but found out later he didn’t mount his seat belt securely enough.
“I just remember bouncing in the car, I don’t remember how soon, I came loose, I was bouncing around,” he said. “I knew my feet were banging around, but i didn’t know which part of the car, where they were at.”
At a certain point, the crash became a blur.
Even as he watched the video of his crashed 1955 Chevy, it amazed him.
Eventually his mind cleared and he wanted to get out of the car quickly.
“I felt fluid on me, I didn’t know, if it was gasoline, I didn’t know if there was gonna be a fire,” he said. “I just knew i had to get out of there.”
What’s worse, it was his wife’s car. He’s jokingly convinced she’s only waiting until he gets better before she reacts fully.
I thought he was lying,” Erin, Kelly’s wife, said and laughed. “I was like, not funny! Second thought was i really couldn’t believe it. He’s raced his whole life. I thought, maybe a little accident, but not to the magnitude it was.”
The Harvey’s realize they’re incredibly lucky, even though he’s not religious.
“Something was good for me,” he said.
And that something will guide him when he races again.
“PPIR sets standards for all its events to keep drivers, crew, and spectators safe,” said PPIR General Manager Bob Boileau. “However, it is the responsibility of the car owner, driver and crews to be sure their vehicles are prepared to take to the track. We’re glad there were no serious injuries” he said.
