The Pinellas Park Police Department is investigating a death that occurred at Showtime Speedway located at 4398 126th Avenue N.
On August 8, 2019, at approximately 10:00pm, officers responded to assist fire/rescue at the Speedway in reference to a go-kart accident.
It was reported that two gas powered go-karts had been racing down the closed drag strip. During the race, an operator of one of the go-karts struck a guardrail, suffering grave injuries. The operator was transported to Bayfront Hospital St. Petersburg where he died a short time later.
According to investigators, two subjects had unlawfully entered the Showtime Speedway property from Ulmerton Rd, crossing a small patch of grass.
Once on the north end of the drag strip, the two go-karts raced south on the western lane of the strip. Once they reached the southern end, both turned around and began racing north.
One of the operators, 29 year-old Jesse Outlaw, failed to observe a guardrail that was across his lane of travel. Outlaw crashed into the guardrail resulting in catastrophic injuries.Â
At the time of the crash, police say that Outlaw was not wearing a helmet and the go-kart was not equipped with a safety harness.
Due to the circumstances of the case, a traffic homicide investigation was initiated in coordination with the Office of the State Attorney.
The driver of the second go-kart was interviewed and released. He did not sustain any injuries or strike Outlaw’s kart during the incident.
There are no charges at this time however, this investigation is still active.