Hot Rod Flies Into Grandstand; Mother Dies Shielding Son From Impact

A hot rod flew out of control into the grandstand during a drag race Sunday, killing a woman who used her body as a shield to protect her 5-year-old son.

The boy was hospitalized in critical condition, and six other people were hurt as they tried to flee.

The accident at a National Hot Rod Association event occurred during a street car division race, in which speeds approach 100 mph. An axle on Daniel Ray George’s car broke, causing it to veer, flip over a rail and fly through a 12-foot-high chain-link fence, said Fauquier County Sheriff Joe Higgs.

That’s when 36-year-old Vickie Lynn Foster went into action.

“She grabbed her son when she saw at the last minute what was happening, turned her body to protect her son from the impact,” Higgs said. “The car came down and crushed her.”

Foster was pinned beneath the car and her son, Matthew Foster, was knocked out of the grandstand.

“If the little boy survives, the mother saved his life,” Higgs said. “The mother saw it coming.”

Some spectators helped lift the car off the woman.

Six other people in the grandstand were injured while fleeing the car, but they weren’t hit.

Driver George wasn’t hurt.

Racing was canceled after the accident at the Sumerduck Racetrack in northern Virginia.

Track officials, contacted by telephone, hung up when asked for comment.