Dramatic moment race car driver
smashes through his windshield after flipping classic Chevy… but walks away
unhurt
·
Drag racer Kelly Harvey destroys
his 1955 Chevy in a high speed crash
·
Harvey was thrown through the
front windshield after his lap belt failed
·
The car spun around several times
before coming to a halt
·
Harvey managed to walk free from
the death-defying high-speed collision
These are the amazing scenes when
drag racer Kelly Harvey crashes his vintage 1955 Chevy during a drag race,
rolling the car several times.
Harvey was racing a 1970s Camaro
at the Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colorado, when he lost
control of his car, flipping several times.
Race was ripped from the seat by
the force of the crash and was thrown feet-first out through the
windshield.
Scroll down for video
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Kelly Harvey was trying to catch
up to the black Camaro, right, inside his classic 1955 Chevy, left
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Mr Harvey said he had only fitted
a lap belt to his 1955 Chevy which he brought to the race track
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As the two cars raced down the
track, the Camaro approached the centre line forcing Harvey to react
Amazingly, seconds after the car
came to rest, Harvey clambered back into his car and to the surprise of the
onlooking crowd, Harvey clambered out of the passenger side door.
The dramatic smash was captured
on video and shows how the Chevy was slightly behind the Camaro which started
weaving in its lane.
The Camaro approached the centre line forcing Harvey to react, who
lost control of his own car sending it spinning.
When the car comes to a rest,
steam is pouring from its engine bay and Harvey can be seen laying face down
with his legs through the car's windshield.
He told 7NEWS: 'Once
(the car) started tumbling, it seemed like it took forever
'I just couldn't wait for it to
stop. And I think that's why I popped out of the car so fast. I just wanted it
to be over.'
The father-of-four said he has
drag raced possibly one thousand times but never had an accident such as
this.
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Harvey tried to pull full
opposite lock in a desperate attempt to keep it under control
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Harvey overcorrects his 1955
Chevy forcing it sideways where it tumbled out of control at high speed
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The car rolled over several
times, with bits of bodywork and the car's hood flying off
He said he had recently fitted a
lap belt to the 1955 car, which did not have a racing seat or a full racing
harness.
Harvey admitted he overcorrected
when powering down the straight and even clipped the other car.
He said: 'It's just a fun cruiser
car, not a race car and therefore it was unprepared. I didn't take it as
seriously as I should have as far as safety equipment goes.'
He said he must have had an 'angel
riding shotgun.'
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When the car comes to a rest,
shocked onlookers can see Harvey's legs sticking out across the hood
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Spectators can barely believe it
as the driver's door of the car opens before emergency services arrive
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Harvey, pictured, walks
unsteadily from his wrecked car which was destroyed by the high speed impact
He added: 'Sunday morning when I
saw the video, it really started to kind of hit home a lot more. When I saw the
severity of it and how lucky I really was to have gotten out of that alive --
let alone pretty much unhurt.'
Despite the major crash Harvey,
who drives a tow truck for a living, said he looks forward to going back on the
race track.
In a statement released by the
Colorado Street Outlaws Drag Racing Event, Harvey said: 'My seat belts were not
mounted properly and pulled through the floor of the car.
'I'm grateful to the staff and
safety crew at PPIR for such a rapid response to my situation.'
Race track general manager Bob
Boileau said: 'PPIR sets standards for all its events to keep drivers, crew,
and spectators safe 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.'
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