Late on Thursday evening on July 15, 2021, two men were killed after an 18-wheeler was struck by an oncoming Amtrak train. Coroners released their names, and one was Monster Jam competitor Scott Hartsock.
It’s a bit of a freak accident. The train tracks crossed near the Jackson Motor Speedway in Byram, Mississippi, which is private property and which does not require the installation of a rail crossing warning system. So it wasn’t as though Hartsock and 18-wheeler driver James Creel passed through a flashing light or arms crossing the tracks. They just happened to cross at the wrong place at the wrong time.
A further investigation will reveal more details about the accident soon.
Amtrak told News that there were 133 passengers on the train, which was heading from New Orleans, Louisiana to Memphis, Tennessee. The train was stranded for hours, but no one on the train was injured.
Racer Scott Hartsock was a professional racer from Bushnell, Florida, and he joined the Monster Jam circuit back in 1994. In Monster Jam, he piloted the truck nicknamed Gunslinger, which featured an image of a skeleton firing a gun. He made six World Finals appearances. He was 59 years old when he died.