BMS EMT Seriously Injured In Freak Accident

BRISTOL, Tenn. – A Bristol Motor Speedway emergency medical technician was seriously injured in a freak accident late Wednesday following the modified series race.
Darrell Wayne Mitchell of Church Hill, Tenn., was taken by helicopter to the Bristol Regional Medical Center. A hospital spokeswoman said he was in the surgical intensive care unit Thursday afternoon.
Bristol Tennessee Police Sgt. Greg Brown said Mitchell was leaving the infield on foot near the pit entrance between turns two and three about 10:45 p.m., 30 minutes after the end of the race. At the same time, a tractor-trailer turned left out of the infield and scraped the side of an elevated camera platform. The impact twisted the platform and a steel ladder attached to the unit spun around and pinned Mitchell against the infield retaining wall.
Brown said Mitchell suffered a head injury, and possibly a skull fracture.
There was one person standing on the platform, which a speedway representative estimated is 12 feet high, when the truck grazed the edge. Police said the man on the platform was not hurt and managed to stay on top.
Brown said Mitchell was listed in stable condition late Wednesday, then in critical condition by Thursday morning.
Mitchell was a paramedic with Church Hill EMS until several months ago when he went to work for the Church Hill Rescue Squad, director Stanley Arnold said.
Mitchell is working at the races on contract through Wellmont Health System, which provides dozens of medical workers for the speedway.
“We haven’t dealt with anything like this before,” said Kevin Triplett, the speedway’s vice president of public affairs. “There are a lot of moving parts and it’s remarkable that we become the third-largest city in Tennessee and have relatively few incidents.”
The red tractor-trailer that hit the platform is owned by TS Haulers out of Calverton, N.Y., on Long Island, police said. TS Haulers is a racing company that sponsored Jimmy Blewett, who placed 31st in Wednesday’s NASCAR Whelen Modified Series. 
There was only minor damage to the truck, and the driver, Thomas Grasso, from Connecticut, was not injured.
Brown said he is unsure if there will be any charges filed in the accident.
The platform was back in operation Thursday, and Triplett said it will hold ESPN television cameras for the weekend.

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