Mark Luhtala's Fatal Crash @ Baja 1000 (Report)
- 5 months ago
An experienced racer, Mark Luhtala, 48, of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, was competing in the 49th edition of the SCORE Baja 1000 desert race, held from 16/20 November 2016 in the town of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. Luhtala was at the wheel of his light blue Fusion Off-Road 6100 Spec Trophy Truck #288, built by Fusion Off-Road of Lake Elsinore, California and fitted with a 6.2-liter Chevy engine and a fiberglass body. He was entered in the Trophy Truck Spec class.
On the penultimate day of the five-day-long event, his truck collided head-on with another vehicle, a Class 1 Jimco - Ford truck #127, driven by fellow racer Cody Parkhouse, 29, from Long Beach, California. The accident occurred on Saturday, 19 November 2016, nearly the Mike Sky Ranch, in the village of Borrego, San Matias area on the Ensenada-San Felipe Road, both vehicles travelling at speeds of up to 60 mi/h (97 km/h) when they smashed into one another.
Mark Luhtala, who was trapped inside the mangled vehicle, suffered massive injuries. His navigator, Gregory Schlef escaped injury. The other driver involved in the crash, Cody Parkhouse was also severely injured. Both of them were airlifted to the University of California San Diego Medical Center in San Diego, California, where Mark Luhtala died of a heart attack on Wednesday, 23 November 2016.
R.I.P
On the penultimate day of the five-day-long event, his truck collided head-on with another vehicle, a Class 1 Jimco - Ford truck #127, driven by fellow racer Cody Parkhouse, 29, from Long Beach, California. The accident occurred on Saturday, 19 November 2016, nearly the Mike Sky Ranch, in the village of Borrego, San Matias area on the Ensenada-San Felipe Road, both vehicles travelling at speeds of up to 60 mi/h (97 km/h) when they smashed into one another.
Mark Luhtala, who was trapped inside the mangled vehicle, suffered massive injuries. His navigator, Gregory Schlef escaped injury. The other driver involved in the crash, Cody Parkhouse was also severely injured. Both of them were airlifted to the University of California San Diego Medical Center in San Diego, California, where Mark Luhtala died of a heart attack on Wednesday, 23 November 2016.
R.I.P