Posted on 05/08/2006 5:58:24 PM PDT by NormsRevenge
A man who was competing in a jet boat competition on Lake Ming died after he lost control of his vessel and was thrown to the ground as it went more than 130 mph, authorities said.
Edward Jay Wallace, 43, of Las Vegas, was pronounced dead at 8:40 p.m. Saturday from injuries he sustained in the crash earlier that day, according to the Kern County coroner's office.
Wallace was competing in the last semifinals race of a National Jet Boat Association weekend event called May Shootout when the throttle on his boat likely got stuck, organizers said.
Going more than 130 mph, the boat flew out of the lake, over a parking lot and onto a hillside, where it erupted into flames, organizers said. The blaze scorched about 10 acres before firefighters contained it.
Wallace was thrown from the boat after it left the water. He was wearing a helmet and protective clothing, but he was not wearing a seat belt because that boat model is not equipped with them, said Jim Guthrie of the National Jet Boat Association.
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