Horrible Tragedy for MN State FSAE Team!

[Dan G]

<A HREF="http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=97210" TARGET=_blank>http://www.kare11.com/assetpool/images/055172261_van-crash-250.jpg
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News Article</A>

5 injured, 3 killed en-route to FSAE competition! Trailer began fishtailing and team van lost control into oncoming traffic. Two semis invovled.


This is horrible, my deepest condolences go out to those involved.

[Dan G]

<A HREF="http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=97210" TARGET=_blank>http://www.kare11.com/assetpool/images/055172261_van-crash-250.jpg
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News Article</A>

5 injured, 3 killed en-route to FSAE competition! Trailer began fishtailing and team van lost control into oncoming traffic. Two semis invovled.


This is horrible, my deepest condolences go out to those involved.

[Travis R]

Very tragic.

[nathan s]

Wow! They will definitely be in our thoughts down here.

[Dan G]

I'm going to try and print out a bunch of trailer loading/towing tip sheets to have at competition for any/all the teams.

Probably something like one of these...

http://www.sherline.com/lmbook.htm

http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/dl648/dl648pt12.htm

http://www.etrailer.com/faq/trailer-towing-tips.asp

[Sam Zimmerman]

On behalf of the Vandals Racing team at the University of Idaho, please extend our deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and teammates of those hurt or killed in the tragic accident that has affected all in the FSAE community. We hope for a speedy recovery for those who are injured and peace for the families of those who died.

[fsae_alum]

Oh my god.....I am so sorry to see this happen. My deepest condolences go out to the family and friends of all those involved.
Having taken one of those vans to competition all the way from San Antonio towing a 25ft trailer, I can say from first hand experience that those things are dangerous. When combined with a lack of sleep and exhaustion experienced by many FSAE team members and further compounded by the typical rush to get to competition, a tragic accident like this was bound to happen. I just really hoped that it never would. Again, my deepest and most sincere condolences go out to everybody affected by this tragedy. Even though I did not know them directly, they were all members of the FSAE family and thus they will be missed as a part of my extended family. http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif

[Travis Garrison]

I can't imagine what the team, their friends and families must be going through...The University of Washington team would like to extend its sympathies as well.

-Travis Garrison
U of Washington FSAE

[markocosic]

Ouch! http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_frown.gif http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_eek.gif Condolences to all involved, that ain't nice.

Is it standard-practice for there to be NO central reservation Wall/Armco/Wire fence in the States?!?

No cats eyes and shoddy roadmarkings too - I've seen better roads in Africa...

[IttyBitty]

UC Berkeley would also like to extend our sympathy and condolences to friends and family of those involved in the accident. To those who survived and are injured, feel better...we'll see you next year.

-Nika

[Dan G]

This is a link to another channel's story on the accident...

WARNING, these shots are a little closer, a little more disturbing...

http://wcco.com/topstories/local_story_137191654.html

[Hoosier Daddy]

OMG

How horrible. I'm so sorry this happened.

[Brian Evans]

This such a tragic thing to have happen. I'll be thinking about this for a long time.

I tow a race trailer just like that one with a van, and do well over 15k miles a year, with no issues at all. People - think about and understand your trailer, your tow vehicle and how you load it. 8 people and luggage in a van that like is already loading it to full capacity. Adding a trailer, with maybe 1,000# of tongue weight, and it's very possible to have it well over it's weight rating. If the trailer was loaded without the correct weight distribution, it will sway. You need to have a weight distribution hitch and active sway control like the Reese Dual Cam or the Equalizer at the minimum.

If you load your trailer properly, keep within it's weight rating, and keep within your tow vehicles gross vehicle weight rating AND it's total combined rating AND use the proper hitch - you WILL be safe.

Sorry for blatting on. This is really bad news.

Brian

[carts]

Hey Guys,

Cardiff University in the UK, sends their condolances..They will be sorely missed at the UK event!

Karl Carter
Team Manager - Cardiff Racing

[BryanP]

I am terribly saddened to hear this news. My deepest sympathies to the entire team and their families.
Bryan

[RiNaZ]

We at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in daytona beach, FL extends our sympathies to the families and friends and to the MN State team.

I've been to FSAE every year for the past 5 years, and this year is definitely the saddest one.

[RickyRacer]

On behalf of Cal State Long Beach, I would like to send my condolences to all of the family, friends, and faculty of those students who we tragically taken.
Ricky

[DPH]

A very tragic loss, FSAE participants are perhaps unknowingly members of a community larger then their respective teams, they are part of an international community of highly dedicated and passionate engineering students. General Patton spoke of how he rather fight a war with Texas Aggies by his side then with the finest West Point graduates (please read no slight in this). And in my case being out of FSAE now for a few years has taught me one thing, when it comes to problem solving and engineering I rather have FSAE'ers on my side over anyone else, they are the best and the brightest. It is a damn shame to have students like these cut down in their prime. The victims of this accident and their loved ones will be in my prayers.

I don't think I ever formally met any of the guys of the current team, but I do remember in the 2001 competition a few of their guys giving a hand and some suggestions to a lone University of Minnesota student troubleshooting a sticky throttle body at 3am the day before the main dynamic events. I will always remember their help. In addition, more recently their advisor, Prof. Bruce Jones, allowed me and a few others from the University of Minnesota access to his lab's flow bench to get some data for a research paper. Good people.

If there is, any good that comes out of all of this it is that now at the attention of some of the best problem solvers in the world is a serious problem. And if I know one thing about FSAE'ers, it is that we believe every problem has a solution. It maybe too early now to know what precisely caused the accident in this particular situation, but that doesn't mean we can't start thinking of possible causes and corrective solutions to each problem like lack of sleep or poor trailer load distribution etc. I am not fit to judge the particulars of this accident, but when your engine won't start on the dyno you know it is probably because of a lack of fuel, air, or spark. What do you do check these out one at a time? No, you put your three best guys on each individual problem and starting working on finding the problems and developing the solutions, that is what we do as engineers. Moreover, in my experience it is better that problem detection and problem solution flow up to the organizers rather then flow down to the students.

If lack of sleep is an issue then perhaps, we need to have advisor and team member sign honor agreements that attest to the fact that any driver on the road has gotten at least 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep in the past 24 hours. And that the driver is replaced every 4 hours with another fresh driver while the team is on the road.

If weight distribution and loading is an issue then perhaps a part of the competition needs to be proof, calculations, and measurements that indicate your trailer setup is in good and proper or perhaps inspections before and after the event in Detroit. Show up with a poor trailer then you automatically forfeit your spot at the competition.

What else can we do? Admiral Rickover, father of the US nuclear navy, knew that the moment one of his subs had a serious nuclear accident, no port in the world would allow one of his subs to dock in port. No ports means no nuclear subs which means no navy worth having. We always have to think about safety. We need constant reminders; maybe we need to start naming turns in Detroit. Count this particular FSAE alumni in on any plans to tackle safety issues.

[Sam Zimmerman]

Folks,

Minnesota State University has set up an email account to send you condolences to.

accident@mnsu.edu

[TomF]

These things are so unbelievebly sad. I wish all those left behind lot's and lot's of strength these days and wish to condolate all the relatives and team members on behalf of the Delft team. What a tragedy.

[Moke]

I'm speechless. From the other side of the world you have the University of Aucklands sympathy.

It's one of those things that you know can happen but never think it will. So to this end everybody drive safely home.

[RiNaZ]

hey markokosic, i dont know why, but i think maybe there are thousands of interstate in US that it's almost impossible to set up fences.

I used to live in Malaysia during my high school years, and i remember that all of the interstate there have fences in between traffics. But of course, Malaysia is much smaller than Florida.

It's a scary thought. I remember my team captain for my Baja team, slept for about an hour every day on the last week before the competition. The night before leaving for the competition, he didnt sleep, still strugling to finish our car, and he still have to study for the finals the next day.

After he was done with finals, i think he must've at least drove 8 hours straight, heading out to Rochester NY, all the way from daytona beach, FL.

Now that i think about it, im grateful nothing happened to him or 2 other team members.

After this, Im pretty sure my advisor is going to be pretty strict about getting enough sleep before driving up to the competition.

I hardly know any of the MN State guys but mannn ... still hard for me to imagine how their families are coping up with this.

[js10coastr]

Is there a mailing address where we can send cards to? I'm thinking a card and a sticker would show alot of support.

[Colin]

On behalf of the Full Boar Racing team at Swinburne, we extend our condolences to the Minnesota state team and their families for their tragic loss.

[Dan G]

I got up and spoke a little about the accident at the captains meeting today. I had about 10 printouts of the article, and about 5 copies of a trailer loading/towing tips page. Response was strong, many teams had not heard of the accident until then and were obviously concerned.

I'll be back tomorrow with 150 copies of both the story and the tips, hopefully enough for every team.

Also, our vinyl sponsor "FastSigns" donated about 150 stickers with the team's number #28 on it. I couldn't hand them out fast enough, a large number of teams will be running the stickers on their cars.

I'll be sure to include the team's email address and mailing address on any printouts for tomorrow.

[Micah Bayless]

Please, all, learn how to be alert on the road; learn your trailer; get help. Heed the call of your state and your local government when they ask to refrain from using the 15 passenger vans.

I am deeply saddened by the news. Everyone will be a bit more humble this week. Enjoy your familes and the gift of living.

Micah

[Dan G]

More info here...

http://www.mnsu.edu/accident/

...that's the schools official website.

[BryanH]

I have tears in the eyes while writing this.
I think I speak for all parents back home when a say to any designated drivers thinking of "having a bit of fun" that you have no right to endanger the lives of fellow students. Drive with your brains not any other part of your anatomy and everyone will come back home.
Regarding this tragic accident, we have no idea how this happened, but in Oz you would not get 10km down the road before being stopped by the police if towing a trailer that size with a van & the fines start at $1200.
"Land of the free" or what?
Bryan H.

[kwancho]

On behalf of the Stanford Formula Racing Team, I'd like to extend my deepest condolences to the members of the Minnesota State Formula SAE Team and their families. You're in our prayers.

[Ryan McCauley]

On behalf of the Old Dominion Univeristy FSAE team, I would like to send my condolences to all of the family, friends, and faculty of the students involved in this incident. It's a very sad time and you're all in our thoughts and prayers.

[Kamil S]

On behalf of Arizona State University, I extend our deepest condolences from one SAE team to another. I cried when I read about what happened... just to think that someone actually makes it to competition and this happens is really sad.
I ask all the teams who are there (unfortunately we are not) to wear a black ribbon if possible throughout the competition in unity with the souls that may rest in peace. Take care everyone... be safe in Pontiac.

Kamil Salloum
ASU Formula SAE

[Ashley Denmead]

On Behalf of Deakin University Australia our deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends of the Minnesota State Formula SAE Team. An absolutely tragic loss of young talented life.

Ashley Denmead

Deakin Race Technologies 2005

[velascomike]

Hello,

On behalf of Universidad Anahuac of Mexico we would like to extend our condolences to all Families, friends and members of the MSU FSAE team for this terrible incident.

Rest in peace

[Dan G]

The MNSU stickers showed up today. I believe every single car at the event is running the sticker. Many are also running the #28 stickers that were donated. This is what it looks like...

http://evilallianceracing.com/ipw-web/gallery/albums/FSAE05/IMG_1474.sized.jpg

[Charlie]

This is very close to home, looks just like our towing setup used to be. I hate to see something like this, my prayers are with them and thier families.

[vinHonda]

I hate to see this sort of tragedy. One of Toronto's solar car team students was killed just last summer and to hear a tragedy affect more engineering students just breaks my heart.

Prayers and thoughts are with the MN State team, their families and the university student body.

I think all the FSAE community are horribly saddened.

Vinh Pham
Toronto FSAE Alum 01-04

[Kyle Jeffries]

The University of South Florida sends it's deepest condolences. We will be running their stickers the next few days.

[Smeagle]

From all the team members of RMIT university, we send our condolences to the team members and families of the Minnesota team.

[SRT Engr]

Hey All...

The SRT and Chrysler Engineering ranks are full of FSAE alums.

Many of us have been discussing it with great sorrow...

This is an incredible tragedy and loss for all of us in the FSAE family.

Our condolences to the family, friends, professors, and colleagues of those that left us.

Be safe out there.

-S

----

MNSU #28 &lt;-- Ride on !

[Darrin]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Dan G:
The MNSU stickers showed up today. I believe every single car at the event is running the sticker. Many are also running the #28 stickers that were donated. This is what it looks like...

http://evilallianceracing.com/ipw-web/gallery/albums/FSAE05/IMG_1474.sized.jpg </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Craig.]

On behalf of the MUR Motorsports and the Univeristy of Melbourne, we would like to extend our condolences to the students at MSU, and the families and friends of the team. It is a great tragedy that seems to affect us all in some way. We wish everyone a safe trip home.

[Sgt Slaughter]

From those of us at SUNY Buffalo, our thoughts and prayers go out to our brothers at MSU. The scariest thing about this accident is that this could have been any one of the teams. Our school tows to all competitions (Baja, Formula, and Snowmobile) with almost the same rig. I know our club will be making a huge push on our administration to seek the purchace of a truck for towing. I've also seen posts on trailering safety on here, and all of us should make an effort to learn from this mistake. Again, our deepest condolences.

[Richard Lewis]

As a FSAE alumni, this just breaks my heart to see this. It could just as easily been people I knew, or even myself on our trips to Detroit.

My most sincere condolences to those involved and the people that were close to them. I am sure the entire University of Victoria FSAE team shares those sentiments as well.

[Patrick W. Crane]

i really don't even know what to say. Deepest sympathies to the families and friends.

As richard said, could have been myself and our team. We had a close call last year with a fish tailing trailer and now do things quite differently.

tragic

[BStoney]

On behalf of Bearcat Motorsports and the University of Cincinnati community, we extend our great prayers and condolences to the families and the MSU crew. This is a tragic story and they were greatly remembered at the 25th Annual FSAE.

[GTmule]

We just go tback to Louisville form Detroit, and we ALL had a GOOD nights rest before leaving Detroit, unlike on the way up.

Condolences to everyone on behalf of the UofL team.

I was never able to find a MSUM sticker this weekend, if anyone has an extra, we'd love to have one. chuckboulware(at)hotmail.com

-Chuck

[Ben Hatfield]

On Behalf of all the team members from the University of Ballarat, Australia we extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the Minnesota State team after this tragic incident.


Ben Hatfield
Eureka Racing Team
University of Ballarat

[Chris Boyden]

It makes me feel sick to think about all of the work, blood, sweat and tears that went into their effort. I'm sorry that it had to end like that. My deepest condolences goes out to the team and their families.

Chris Boyden
Lobo Motorsports 2003, 2004
University of New Mexico

[Gumby]

On behalf of the Ryerson University FSAE team I would like to extend our deepest sympathies to those at MSU. It was a horrible accident but if we can all learn from this hopefully further tragedies can be avoided.


Adam Ballard
Ryerson University

[Wray]

Our team drove by the scene of the accident roughly 20-30 minutes after it happened. Needless to say, we were all quite shocked.

Our condolences to the friends and families of those lost..

[TTU Phantom]

Though i was not able to attend the competition for a death in my immediate family, i wish the best for all those directly effected by this tragedy. The members of the 2005 & 2006 Tennessee Technological University FSAE teams would like to express their deepest sympathies to everyone effected. Our thoughts and prayers are with you.

[The Dudeness]

Wow, that really puts things in perspective. Finishing the endurance race is a much lower priority all of a sudden.

[David Grainger]

On behalf of Clemson University I would like to extend our condolences to the team and the family members.

David Grainger
Clemson University

[major_ashwa]

On behalf of the Rvianz Racing Team ,India at the University of VTU, please extend our deepest sympathies to the families, friends, and teammates of those hurt or killed in the tragic accident that has affected all in the FSAE community. We hope for a speedy recovery for those who are injured and peace for the families of those who died.

[Dr. Bob Woods]

On behalf of the University of Texas at Arlington, your school, your faculty advisor, your teammates, and the families of the team mates all have our deepest sympathy and concerns.

Bruce, my biggest concern all year is the trip to Detroit. A school in Texas lost a volleyball team a few years ago in an 18-passenger van. Driving safety is the largest part of my sendoff speech to the team. I can say that I can only imagine what you are going through, but I really do imagine what you are going through each year we travel.

To the fellow team members and to the families, this tragedy is amplified since the team was in a situation of high excitement and expectations only to be brought back to the most horrible situation imaginable.

If words, thoughts, prayers, and concerns from others help you any at all, please be assured that you all have an outpouring from all of FSAE.

-Dr. Bob Woods
Faculty Advisor, UTA

[Schumi_Jr]

On behalf of the University of Waterloo I would like to extend our condolences to the family and friends of the MN State FSAE team. This tradgedy has deeply affected the FSAE community...

[Jonathan K]

All members of the University of Adelaide team would like to extend their heart felt sympathies to all those involved in this tragic accident. Even here in Australia this terrible event has been deeply felt, making all of us wake up to the dangers faced on the roads.

Jonathan Koch
University of Adelaide Racing Concepts

[Mankato_Ryan]

Hi Everyone.
My name is Ryan Schommer. I am one of the Minnesota State Mankato students that was in the tragic accident. I am a survivor....with the help of countless people.

First of all, let me say "Thank you" to everyone for their thoughts and prayers during this very difficult time. Our University has been stunned by this accident but with the help and support of so many people, the pain has been lessened. It meant a lot to me and my teammates to hear that teams were displaying our name and/or number at the competition. This just goes to show how close the FSAE community is.

Next, I would like to explain what happened with the accident. Let me start off by saying that our van was not overloaded. We were quite a ways under our load capacity. The van was a diesel powered Freightliner (which you may not be able to tell from the photos). Second, our trailer had a load-leveling mechanism on the hitch so the weight distribution was properly set. Since leaving Mankato, we had no trouble with the trailer controlling the van, even when traveling up or downhill. Here is what happened. Anyone who has ever driven an SUV [or similar] vehicle near Lake Michigan will tell you about the wind gusts. We were a victim of one of those. They come out from no where. One took control of the trailer at first, but our driver was able to retain control. Then another one hit right after and it was unavoidable, from my standpoint. When the trailer was forced violently to the right, there was nothing our driver could do but hold er straight. Then when the trailer came back to the right, the tires caught the gravel median and it sucked us right in. The van tumbled twice before I was ejected from the van, just before the semis from the other direction slammed into us (by far, there was nothing those poor drivers could do to avoid us). I am lucky to still be alive after the accident. News reports had it all wrong when they said that the van was overloaded. We have made the trip before with the same van and trailer without a problem.
I hope this will clear up any confusion.

Once again, thank you everyone for your support, thoughts, and prayers. I ask for you to still pray for one of our members who is still in the hospital. He needs us right now.

[Mankato_Ryan]

Let me also add that each of our drivers had experience driving around heavy trailers. Our drivers were plenty rested as well.
One of our failures is that not all the members traveling in the van with the trailer knew about the strong winds that are present as you near Lake Michigan. May future teams be told of this force of nature, and please be careful. To future FSAE teams, may you have very thorough driving instructions and a safe trip to Detroit. You will not gain points for speeding there, be alert always, and remember the 3 MSU Mankato students as you make your commute. Godspeed to all

[Sam Zimmerman]

Thank you for the posts, Ryan. It is nice to have an update. I am glad to know that you all heard about the impact this accident has had on the entire FSAE community and the support shown. Everybody who volunteers to go through the long hours that FSAE requires knows the excitement involved in heading to competition to show off the fruits of their labor. Dr. Woods is right about the tragedy being amplified by the stunning emotional shift that this must have had on all the team members, families, and friends of the people in the van.

We hope for a complete and speedy recovery for you and your teammates.