By Garrett Stack
The Herald Bulletin
ANDERSON — A pit crew member who was injured Tuesday at the Anderson Speedway lies in painful, but stable condition after surgery yesterday.
Curt Stein, a 43-year-old Greenfield native, is a member of the pit crew for Dave Ecoff’s No. 15 car.
Stein was inflating a tire in preparation for the Redbud 300, which was to take place that evening, when the entire tire exploded off of the car, severely injuring his left arm.
“It sounded like a bomb,” Ecoff said. “The wheel dismounted and just blasted off.”
Stein was taken via helicopter to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis, where he underwent surgery Tuesday evening to repair his wounded arm.
“So far he’s gone through one surgery and he’s getting some feeling back in his fingers,” Ecoff said. “But it’s still an iffy thing and it will probably take several more surgeries to repair all the damage.”
Ecoff, a Greenfield native, raced in the CRA Super Series until 2001. His 16-year-old son Damon now drives the car. This is his rookie season in the series.
Ecoff claims he has never witnessed an accident like the one that injured Stein.
“It was something I’ve never seen before,” he said. “When I go to the track, I worry about my boy, but now I’ll have to spread out my worry to the whole crew. We were lucky no one else was injured.”
According to Anderson Speedway President Rick Dawson, it is still not clear what caused the accident, but human error may be the culprit.
“It doesn’t look like there was anything defective with the tire or the rim,” Dawson said. “So whether he put too much air in there or got it cockeyed, I don’t know.”
Dawson said that it is typical for crew members to put extra air in the tires to get them to “bead and seal” in preparation for a race.
David and his son Damon spent the evening with Stein, and said that he is awake and talking, but that he is still in a lot of pain.
“We fed him some Jell-O this morning and he’s feeling a little better,” Ecoff said. “It’s just a waiting game, but we think that they will be able to save his arm. Now all we can do is hope for the best.”
Contact Garrett Stack, 640-4878, garrett.stack@heraldbulletin.com
Local News
Injured speedway crewman stable after surgery
- Local News
-
-
Anderson man dies at Monroe Reservoir; 3 others arrested
Memorial Day weekend took a tragic turn Saturday evening as an Anderson man visiting Monroe Reservoir died. Three other Anderson men were arrested later that day following the death of Matthew Hosier, 29.
-
Getting Together: Silence not golden for this library program
Certain rules govern almost all libraries: be quiet, don’t mar the pages and absolutely no food or drinks on the premises. But a small group of patrons wait until after hours, lock themselves in the back room of the Alexandria-Monroe Public Library, eat popcorn, drink soda and loudly scoff as they watch bad movies.
-
Veteran receiving Bronze Star 68 years late
An Army veteran will be awarded a Bronze Star on Memorial Day — 68 years after he was originally supposed to receive it.
-
Memorial Day activities set
For Memorial Day weekend, here’s a list of activities to participate in.
-
Arrest Log: May 28
Arrests made by Madison County law enforcement on Saturday, based on Madison County Jail records. Charges are recommended by arresting officers, but are not final until the Madison County prosecutor reviews the case and files official charges.
- Conservation officers arrest Anderson boater on alcohol charge
-
What's Where: May 28
Local activities are scheduled Monday.
-
Handicapped murder convict alleges prison discrimination
Since October 2006, Donald Lock has been confined to a wheel chair because of a degenerative bone disease. He has spent time at correctional facilities throughout the state, but it wasn’t until he was transferred to Pendleton earlier this year that he said he felt his disability was ignored.
-
Arrest log: May 27
The following arrest log appears in the Sunday edition of The Herald Bulletin.
-
Parents at Little League say coach took money
Parents of the North Anderson Little League filed a complaint with police against a former coach who they say stole fundraiser money.
- More Local News Headlines
-
