Roger Williamson's Fatal F1 Crash

Giblet

Do not view if you are sensitive to such materials.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqv68DkPi60

During the race, Williamson suffered a sudden tyre deflation, which pitched him into the barriers at high speed and catapulted his car 300 yards (275 metres) across the track against the barriers on the other side. Williamson's car came to a rest upside down and the driver was unable to extricate himself from the burning car. Fellow driver David Purley came to Williamson's aid but he was unable to overturn the car.(Note: Purley was NOT Williamsons team-mate). Williamson was uninjured in the crash, and was heard shouting to Purley to get him out of the car. Initially some people, like the commentators on Dutch TV, race control and some of the other drivers participating in the race, thought that Purley was the driver that belonged to the burning car, and thus thought that the driver had escaped safely.

The fire marshals stationed at the corner where the accident occurred were both poorly trained and badly equipped, with Purley snatching the only fire extinguisher available to try and extinguish the fire. The marshals, without flame retarding gear, stood by as the fire grew stronger, awaiting the arrival of the fire truck that had to navigate across the track while the race was still in progress. The police pushed back some spectators who had climbed the fences on to the track with the aim of assisting Purley's efforts. By the time the car was eventually righted, and the fire extinguished, Williamson had died of asphyxiation.

It was arguably the darkest day and most confronting moment in the sport's history so far. The incident encapsulated the senseless nature of so many fatalities in the sport in that era, while it was the first time that such a dramatic event was televised directly to so many people. The accident also publicly exposed that safety measures in and around Formula One circuits in that era were insufficient.

Crazy the lack of regulations back then, this crash is one of the primary causes of the safety precautions brought into Formula 1.
David Purley was awarded the George medal for his attempt to save Williamson.
He has also survived the highest amount of G's exerted on a human being, nearly 180.

Package

if i was a man who could admi to having a tear brought to my eyes, i would.

ive never heard of the dude, but seing the other guy try to do all he could while the other knobs stood there like idiots. i could almost feel the dispare he felt at being helpless.

nanook

i have never heard of roger williamson until 5 mins ago but i have to say that that video shows many things, sadness, loyalty etc.

Very moving piece of footage.

KamiKazi

thats one of the saddest videos ive ever seen.

Package

it really is, just watched it again.... i feel **** inside. its amazing that some footage from over 20 years ago about people you never even heard of can cause such emotion.

talk about goosebumps

Plug

Nearly brought a tear to my eye. How cruel was that, stupid marshels and firemen. Did anyone see the picture of him after it? Rough is all I can say:(

Plug

Plug wrote:

Nearly brought a tear to my eye. How cruel was that, stupid marshels and firemen. Did anyone see the picture of him after it? Rough is all I can say:(

What happened in that crash, almost certainly contributed to the terrible accident that occured at the 1977 South African gp.

Officials after witnessing the carnage at previous gps caused by slow response, briefed marshals to get on the scene as quickly as possible.

Jansen Van Vuuren, a 19 year old Dutch student and safety marshall died when crossing the track to extinguish a fire on Renzo Zorzi's retired Shadow, but was struck by Tom Pryce's car at high speed. The impact killed both Pryce and Van Vuuren instantly, Van Vuuren from the impact of the collision, Pryce from sustaining a fatal head injury from the marshall's fire extinguisher. The extreme forces involved in the collision resulted in Van Vuuren leaving no identifiable remains, and he was only recognized by exclusion after the race director gathered all of his colleagues. Also, due to the extreme forces, Pryce's helmet was fully ripped off in result of the fire extinguisher.

*graphic viewing* http://youtube.com/watch?v=KDEzMq4VTH0

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_South_African_Grand_Prix

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Pryce

Edit: Copy and paste that url in.. I didn't relealise it was the full vid. Its pretty horrific.

Plug

Christ almighty:eek: