The so-called freak accident that took 4 days to get a media report on is unacceptable and to say Speedway didn't know about it till Sunday defies belief, particularly as officials were right on the spot and saw the victim within a couple of minutes although racing continued, which hampered medical help coming. It's not rare and it's not a freak accident – it was a very large chunk of metal which was probably tossed over the ‘safety' fence. That piece of metal was taken away by a Speedway official.
Relatives who were sitting 10 metres away saw it all so that's an eyewitness account. The woman was in severe pain and it took about 10 minutes for St. Johns to arrive.
It's not only a Speedway NZ issue, it's a TCVL issue as the owner of the Stadium which has the Operating Agreement with Speedway. It is also probably an OSH issue. The result of the investigation report must be made available to the public as it is very fortunate someone wasn't killed. Probably the fact there was the usual paltry crowd of only 1,500 people helped. Incidentally it appears no warning signs are posted in the stands area.
Speedway seems to have a very laid back and laissez faire attitude to the whole incident and if that's the best they can do, Speedway shouldn't be racing at Baypark. Pack them off to TECT Park.
S Paterson, Arataki.