AZ man identified after fatal wreck at Soboba Sand Drags

UPDATED: Saturday, March 23, 6 p.m., With coroner’s release of information.

SAN JACINTO — Officials have identified a man who died when his Top Fuel dragster crashed during yesterday’s opening day of races at San Jacinto’s Soboba Sand Drags. The deadly crash happened on a specially prepared dirt track in the 23300 block of Soboba Rd. Friday afternoon, March 22.

The fatal wreck marred the Southern California Sand Drag Association’s 2019 Season Opener and forced the races to shut down for the evening while officials investigated the cause of the accident.

LEADING THE RCNS HEADLINES:

Murrieta man, 50, killed in fiery I-15 wreck

Hemet couple arrested after MoVal child abduction

Hemet homes evac’d after search yields explosive device

Naked and running across I-215, man fatally struck by vehicles

Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner officials today identified Marcus Norris, 43, of Litchfield Park, AZ, as the driver killed in yesterday’s accident. A coroner’s release indicated the crash happened at 2:22 p.m., and that Norris succumbed to his injuries about 35 minutes later and was pronounced deceased at 3 p.m.

Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department was dispatched to the crash around 2:45 p.m., after officials at the track were unable to pull the critically injured driver from his wrecked Top Fuel dragster, which was modified for sand and dirt track racing.

Firefighters managed to extricate Norris from his dragster, at which time he was pronounced deceased.

CHP Officer Darren Meyer later reported the dragster went off the end of the track, launched over a berm, and overturned in a dry wash. A witness to the fatal crash explained the engine of Norris’s Top Fuel dragster did not shut down after launching, sending the highly modified vehicle over the berm at the end of the track.

According to officials, the remainder of the day’s races was cancelled, but race coordinators later announced the races would continue Saturday in Norris’s honor. Sunday, March 24 is the final day of races at the location.

National Sand Drag News later wrote about yesterday’s fatal accident on social media, saying in part, “The sand drag racing community lost a star and great friend yesterday with the passing of Top Fuel racer Marcus Norris.”

“As anyone can attest that has met Marcus, he was a tremendous person and will be greatly missed,” the post continued. “We send our condolences to the Norris Family & Crew in this difficult time.”

CHP officers and Riverside County sheriff’s deputies were both dispatched to the crash, but it was not immediately known which agency would be investigating the cause of the deadly accident.

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

National Sand Drag News photos

---

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle, and Anza Valley Outlook; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.