"Bucket List" event turned tragedy....sad

[kaorder1999]

by CASEY NORTON

WFAA


FORT WORTH — Texas Driving Experience promises a safe, educational, fun day on the track at Texas Motor Speedway.

But 87-year-old Don Krusemark died after his ride on Saturday.

A family friend said Don Krusemark's parents lived to be 100, and he planned to do the same. So he signed up for a Saturday ride-along, hoping to go 100 mph with a professional driver behind the wheel.

A witness told News 8 that Krusemark was a passenger in a Chevrolet Corvette, making laps in the late afternoon.

There were four cars on the track. One of them was passing Krusemark's Corvette at a turn when his car hit the wall and ended up in the infield.

Krusemark and another person were taken by helicopter ambulance to Fort Worth hospitals. John Peter Smith Hospital said Krusemark was taken off life support Monday morning.

Dawn Stokes, the owner of Texas Driving Experience, had no comment about the accident or the condition of the second person in the Corvette, who was believed to be the driver.

The Krusemark family said they will speak out about what happened on the track sometime soon.

A family friend said Krusemark, a father of six, was deeply involved with his Catholic parish and in perfect health.

That Saturday joy ride was just supposed to be another check mark on his life's to-do list.

Texas Motor Speedway officials said they were aware of the accident, but not involved. Texas Driving Experience leases the track from the Speedway, which had medics on standby, as stipulated in its contract.

[Ranger Mom]

That's sad!:(

[kaorder1999]

def wont be good for this company's business!! I bet their prices go down IF they are still in business after all of this plays out in court!

[BEAST]

Thats what drives me crazy. Why does this need to go to court? Do you not know that when you are in a vehicle going 100+ MPH that there is a higher risk of an accident. And if there is an accident, there is a higher chance that it could be fatal.




BEAST

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by BEAST
Thats what drives me crazy. Why does this need to go to court? Do you not know that when you are in a vehicle going 100+ MPH that there is a higher risk of an accident. And if there is an accident, there is a higher chance that it could be fatal.




BEAST

anybody who owns a business and offers a service and a death occurs during that service offered, you will end up in court. I see NOTHING wrong with it. There ARE businesses who take short cuts and if a mistake is made, then it needs to be looked into. Maybe this was something that couldn't be avoided but like I said, if you are in a business that is risky enough to possibly take a life, if a life is taken, it needs to be looked into! Its just about accountability

[Ranger Mom]

I would figure they would have to sign some kind of waiver.

Now whether that waiver would stand up in court is another question.

[kaorder1999]

i take a huge risk everytime I get into an airplane or on a bus or on a cruise ship and I go into it knowing Im putting my life into someone elses hand. But if I were to die doing any of these things I would hope my family would look into this and let an investigation occur and let the courts decide if it could have been avoided to keep it from happening to someone else!

[JJWalker]

It is an unsafe world and when you willingly participate in unsafe activities ... it is possible that you may get injured or even die.

Take highschool football as an example ...

Or ... even cheerleading ...

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by JJWalker
It is an unsafe world and when you willingly participate in unsafe activities ... it is possible that you may get injured or even die.

Take highschool football as an example ...

Or ... even cheerleading ...

of course, nobody is saying anything otherwise. BUT...when you are making money off of these "unsafe" activities and someone does die as a result of your services offered, be ready to go to court!

[kaorder1999]

This isnt an old man meeting a friend at the track to go fast in his car. This is a business. And when someone dies, even if a waiver is signed, you are going to court. You dont just take a business' word when a death occurs. You let someone not involved decide whether or not this could have been avoided.

and guess what? If this was something that couldn't be avoided and the business followed all rules and guidelines and the judge says "you may continue" then thats great. BUT....you never know what other circumstances might be uncovered in the process of an investigation and court hearing!

[BEAST]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
anybody who owns a business and offers a service and a death occurs during that service offered, you will end up in court. I see NOTHING wrong with it. There ARE businesses who take short cuts and if a mistake is made, then it needs to be looked into. Maybe this was something that couldn't be avoided but like I said, if you are in a business that is risky enough to possibly take a life, if a life is taken, it needs to be looked into! Its just about accountability

I totally understand what you are saying. I suppose if they find some kind of wrong doing on some upkeep of the vehicle that directly caused this accident then ok. But, they will run the driver through the ringer, and the company as well. Here is a thought, if the great Dale Sr managed to kill himself in a fast vehicle on a race track, Im not sure I would put my life in the hands of "professional driver" that works for a weekend warrior company. How about a little bit of personal responibility?




BEAST

[JJWalker]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
of course, nobody is saying anything otherwise. BUT...when you are making money off of these "unsafe" activities and someone does die as a result of your services offered, be ready to go to court!
I can't think of a more lucrative activity ... than cheerleading ...

It is like a money printing machine ...

Anyhow ... I certainly believe there will be suit made ... and if it ends up in a jury trial ... odds are there will be at least one of me there. And ... it will all have been a waste of time and expense.

[LE Dad]

I would hope that this business has disclaimers and signed waivers that repeatedly mention the possibility of injury and death. If so they should be well protected.

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by LE Dad
I would hope that this business has disclaimers and signed waivers that repeatedly mention the possibility of injury and death. If so they should be well protected.

you are probably right BUT...what you have to realize is that even though these waivers exist, the company still has to be held accountable. And if a mistake is made on the part of the company itself, then they should be held accountable no matter what has been signed. And by accountable Im not saying money should be paid to the family or anything like that. By accountability, I mean that maybe changes need to be made to their practices after a death accurs to make things a little more safer to those involved.

Just because a waiver is signed you dont just blow off what happened and say "there was a chance this could happen". You look deep into it and see if anything differently could have occured to keep this from happening! ESPECIALLY, if you plan on stayin gin business!

[kaorder1999]

heres an example for me...

Lets say you own a bungee jumping business. You might make people sign a waiver before they jump saying death or serious injury could occur.

Example 1
Someone jumps and in the process of jumping the bungee jerks them and snaps their neck. This could definitly be a pre-existing condition that this person had and the jump just sent it over the top. As the business owner i would HOPE a thorough investigation occurs and shows that this injury and death was a result of something out of my control which would hopefully show future possible customers that my business is legit.

Example 2
In the process of jumping the bungee snaps. And in the process of an investigation it is discovered that the bungee business has not been propery maintaining their bungee cords. And as a result of the bad maintenance, the cord snapped. Should that company not be held accountable just because they signed a waiver?


Maybe this racing company did everything by the book and this was just a misfortunate happening. BUT....sdomeone died. An investigation should and will occur and if it does end up in court, the judge or jury can make the decision as to whether they should be held accountable for anything. In my opinion, you dont just blow it off because a waiver was signed!

[LE Dad]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
you are probably right BUT...what you have to realize is that even though these waivers exist, the company still has to be held accountable. And if a mistake is made on the part of the company itself, then they should be held accountable no matter what has been signed. And by accountable Im not saying money should be paid to the family or anything like that. By accountability, I mean that maybe changes need to be made to their practices after a death accurs to make things a little more safer to those involved.

Just because a waiver is signed you dont just blow off what happened and say "there was a chance this could happen". You look deep into it and see if anything differently could have occured to keep this from happening! ESPECIALLY, if you plan on stayin gin business! True, if there were unsafe practices occuring, but based on information released thus far I would say the only questionable practice was allowing an 86 year old man in the car. If driver and car check out that would be the main grounds I would see for tort claim, but that would be pretty shaky ground. Time will tell.

[kaorder1999]

of course everything at the surface looks good because thats what the business has to portray to try to survive! Thats why I have NO PROBLEM with letting others investigate and if the family does decide to take the issue to court, I have no problem with it!

[Farmersfan]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
i take a huge risk everytime I get into an airplane or on a bus or on a cruise ship and I go into it knowing Im putting my life into someone elses hand. But if I were to die doing any of these things I would hope my family would look into this and let an investigation occur and let the courts decide if it could have been avoided to keep it from happening to someone else!




And this demonstrates exactly why liability insurance is so high for most businesses and almost unobtainable for others. It will soon become impossible to find places like this that will allow people to do dangerous stunts or activities. Carnivals and fairs will soon be gone and any business that has the potential of bodily injury will a thing of the past.
In this case all I can say is that there is one reason and one reason ONLY that this man wanted to ride in this car at this speed! That reason is the danger that it represents. People bungie jump because it is dangerous and exciting. So don't compare this to other businesses. If you pay money to take the risk and it ends badly, it's just your tough luck! But that's just my opinion!

[Ranger Mom]

The cost of liability insurance is why we don't have a public swimming pool in Greenwood.

[SHSBulldog00]

truely sad:(

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by Farmersfan
And this demonstrates exactly why liability insurance is so high for most businesses and almost unobtainable for others. It will soon become impossible to find places like this that will allow people to do dangerous stunts or activities. Carnivals and fairs will soon be gone and any business that has the potential of bodily injury will a thing of the past.
In this case all I can say is that there is one reason and one reason ONLY that this man wanted to ride in this car at this speed! That reason is the danger that it represents. People bungie jump because it is dangerous and exciting. So don't compare this to other businesses. If you pay money to take the risk and it ends badly, it's just your tough luck! But that's just my opinion!

so if a family member of yours does this and dies, all you say is tough luck? Or do you want someone looking into it to see if they followed every safety measure they were supposed to? See if they driver had alcohol in his system or any other chemicals that could have affected his driving (and Im not at all saying he did). There are SO many different things that could have caused the accident and if it were my loved one who died I sure as heck would want someone looking into it! I wouldnt just say tough luck to them! Life is more precious then that!

[BEAST]

I agree with you about one thing, life is more precious than that. All the more reason not to knowingly risk your life. And if you choose to risk your own life, I hope you understand upfront, you could die as a result of risking your life.




BEAST

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by BEAST
I agree with you about one thing, life is more precious than that. All the more reason not to knowingly risk your life. And if you choose to risk your own life, I hope you understand upfront, you could die as a result of risking your life.




BEAST

of course...dont diagree with that at all

[TheDOCTORdre]

If you are at the point in life where you are checking things off a bucket list, then dont be suprsied when you die

[LE Dad]

I guess the main thing was that he was doing something he wanted to do, I can't think of a better way to go.

[AP Panther Fan]

Originally posted by LE Dad
I guess the main thing was that he was doing something he wanted to do, I can't think of a better way to go.

Well, personally, I would pick something less painful.;)

I can see both sides of this discussion regarding whether the company could have been negligent and/or the gentleman assumed the risk when he decided to take that ride.

I might be inclined to ascertain if the business needs to be shut down for unsafe practices, but would not necessarily believe that the family should be entitled to a monetary reward.

But that's just me ... I am tired of people thinking that a quick lawsuit is the answer to all problems, when in fact, it is probably the root of all evil.