This Day in History: On this day in 1977, Tom Pryce, a driver in the 1977 South African Grand Prix, struck and killed Frederick Jansen Van Vuuren at 170 miles per hour (270 km/h) as Van Vuuren ran across the Kyalami racetrack to extinguish a burning car. In turn, the fire extinguisher which Van Vuuren was carrying struck Pryce's head and killed him.
That is not even close to being the worst accident at a race. In 1955 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Mercedes Benz driver Pierre Levegh crashed into the stands and killed 83 spectators and injured 180 others.
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