Families suing after children injured in race car crash at Michigan test track
By Kelly Vaughen
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DETROIT, Michigan (WWJ) — Two children were severely injured in a race car crash at a Michigan test track. The families are now demanding justice and filing multiple lawsuits.
Lawsuits have been filed against Continental Automotive Systems Inc., the owner of the test track, and Ford Motor Company, the owner of the car. The families are also suing the group that hosted the summer program, Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program, and the driver of the car, Linus Gugino.
The parties involved said they cannot comment on pending litigation.
The horrific crash happened July 17, 2023, during a field trip to an Auburn Hill test track. The lawsuit alleges that the driver of the race car lost control on purpose to make the demonstration more exciting.
Cellphone video shows the moment the car slammed into the guardrail and hit children, seriously injuring an 8 and 10-year-old.
“It was absolutely hands down, the worst moment of my life,” said Vincent Gibson, the father of Elijah Gibson, who was hurt in the crash. The second grader and his father were at the test track as part of a field trip with a STEM summer camp.
“To show them a good time, to show them what was possible, to show them what their future could look like. And their futures were almost taken from them,” said Gibson.
Elijah suffered a traumatic brain injury and fractures to his skull and legs. He had to undergo multiple surgeries.
Ten-year-old Lavell McGee also sustained severe head injuries in the crash.
“These kids went from being top of their class overachievers, to be able to get into this program and to be future engineers, to struggling with some of the most basic things,” said Jonathan Marko, the attorney representing both families.
Marko said the crash was tragic and entirely preventable.
“On the first pass, he started to lose control directly towards the kids. Then they had him do it again, go even faster, and either their stability control system did not work, or they intentionally turned it off,” he said.
Marko said the car involved was a Mustang Dark Horse, a prototype sports car on loan from Ford.
“The predictable happened. When you take a high-speed, prototype race car and you race it right next to little kids. And you have your driver lose control on purpose to make it exciting. Something bad is going to happen. And the worst imaginable nightmare for these families and these children happened,” he said.
Marko said the driver was not qualified, and the kids should never have been that close to the track.
“They won’t even let you do this at NASCAR. I go to a NASCAR show, or we go to the Grand Prix at downtown Detroit; they’ve got fences up. They won’t even let me, as an adult, come anywhere near close.”
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