Court: Mud buggy race operators not negligent in crash

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A state appeals court says a jury properly ruled the operators of an Eau Claire mud-buggy race weren’t negligent in a crash that cost a spectator a leg.

A buggy flew into the crowd during a race in 2012 and struck the spectator Shawn Wallace. He lost one of his legs below the knee.

Wallace sued, alleging the owner of the track, Chippewa Valley Antique and Engine Model Club, Inc., and the race’s sanctioning body, Central Mudracing Association, Inc., were negligent.

A jury in 2016 found neither entity was negligent. Wallace appealed, arguing he should have been allowed to introduce evidence from a crash that had occurred in 2005.

The 3rd District Court of Appeals ruled on Tuesday that the previous crash wasn’t similar enough to warrant inclusion of the evidence.
Wallace’s lawyers had no immediate comment.