Roger Williamson Fatal Crash.

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Crash. Fatal Roger Williamson Controversial Titles
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  • Added: 24-Jul-07

GP Holland 1973.

Roger Williamson crashes hard on lap 8, roll his car and catches fire. Only yards away stood a fire tender, but no order was given to stop the race and its driver refused, perhaps rightly, to drive against the direction of the traffic. Worse, marshals with fire extinguishers merely watched as Purley fought a lone battle to right the upturned March. He could hear Williamson inside it. Roger pleaded with him to get him out. Time and again Purley tried to lift the car, but each time he failed. For two laps - at least 2m 47s -the fire was minimal, but then it grew dramatically in intensity. David tried to fight it after grabbing an extinguisher from one marshal, but by then the fire had too strong a hold. As the marshals still remained immobile, appalled spectators began to try and help, unable to believe what they were seeing. Only then were marshals with police dogs galvanized into action, to keep them back. Finally, in the most callous act of cowardice ever seen in motor racing, they moved at last and tried to drag the desolate Purley away. He shrugged them off angrily. Roger was uninjured in the cockpit, but they left him to die of asphyxiation. When they finally arrived, the fire trucks were far, far too late. David Purley : Through his tears he said, "I just couldn't turn it over. I could see he was alive and I could hear him shouting, but I couldn't get the car over. I was trying to get people to help me, and if I could have turned the car over he would have been alright, we could have got him out." Later, when the immediate grief had receded, he admitted, "I didn't even think about the heroism or any of that rubbish. I just did what comes naturally to a trained soldier who sees a fellow in trouble." Ian Philips - journalist and friend : "Purley actually had a conversation with him. David was trying to turn him over and told me afterwards how Roger had said to him, For God's sake, David, get me out of here', and he just couldn't get him out. The circumstances were just appalling. David Purley was later awared the British Imperial George Medal, the second highest (highest being the George Cross) medal that can ever be awarded to a civilian for bravery.

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Comments on

Roger Williamson Fatal Crash.

15 Comments | Add Comment
  • That's the thing. ...

    That's the thing. His body was protected, and practically unscratched. It is in the description.

    By Destined000 [Affiliate User] 1227933352 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • watching your ...

    watching your friend burning to death in front of you, while there nthg else you can do... Its simply terrible

    By bmxpeter8 [Affiliate User] 1227912118 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • it´s the sadest ...

    it´s the sadest video i've ever seen.

    By bimbamo [Affiliate User] 1227905750 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • I can't believe ...

    I can't believe those people weren't helping him. Even with the F**king extuinguisher they were just standing around clueless.

    F**king bastards

    By Hellooli [Affiliate User] 1227867599 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • stupid drivers they ...

    stupid drivers they knew they had fire proof suits and the shouldve stopped and helped him also..

    By jesusrocks13324 [Affiliate User] 1227828680 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Purley = a damned ...

    Purley = a damned good man.

    What he forgot at the time was that he the only person wearing a fire suit. The course workers couldn't assist him without sustaining terrible injuries. They couldn't simply walk up to a burning car and grab hold like he could. There can be little doubt that, if properly clothed, the lot of them could've turned it over though.

    By Buford11362 [Affiliate User] 1227802788 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • oww my god i cant ...

    oww my god i cant beleive no one their with him would help him all they did was watched...i would of been so mad but so sad at them and the ones who should of called off the race due to the crash, could of saved someones life which is more important!!!!

    By travismarcusfocker [Affiliate User] 1227794640 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • useless C**ts , i ...

    useless C**ts , i cant believe people can be that stupid, as someone burns to death those wankers just stand and watch

    By preludefan [Affiliate User] 1227776680 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Ugh... this is so ...

    Ugh... this is so sad. I can't believe nobody else stopped to help. Friend or not, human life is more important than not going down a lap.

    By iwinez [Affiliate User] 1227756776 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • regardless of what ...

    regardless of what wikipedia or anybody says, David Purley was a hero, he tried so damn hard to save his friends life. he did what others wouldnt do, regardless of wheter or not he suceeded he kept trying and trying. If he was still with us today he should be held as a national treasure and he should never ever be forgotten

    By bey69er [Affiliate User] 1227749006 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • It was race control ...

    It was race control that thought it was Purley's, and was the official reason given on why rescue wasn't dispatched as quickly.

    Wikipedia's generally as accurate as the encyclopedia Britannica (there have been studies), it's most likely people's inability to quote sources correctly.

    By xStrangeWillx [Affiliate User] 1227741468 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • SITUATION MUST BE ...

    SITUATION MUST BE HORRIBLE

    By sergiovercetti [Affiliate User] 1227700471 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • I've been a motor ...

    I've been a motor sport fan for many years now, and it that time I've seen some of the best and worst the sport has had to offer, but this really was the most tragic event to have ever taken place. The desperation and then eventually total dejection in David Puerly's body language says it all.

    Perhaps there is some small consolation that the actions of men like these have helped shape what Formula One is today.

    By aldukcevic [Affiliate User] 1227698003 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • This footage is a ...

    This footage is a good example of how far emergency response and race protocol has come in the last 30+ years.

    It's tragic to see how desperately ill equipped the marshals we're to handle major crashes. You can really feel the sheer frustration of David Purley as no one really new what to do to help.

    The fact the race continued even though there were people all over the track trying to fight a major fire was total insanity.

    By aldukcevic [Affiliate User] 1227679426 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
  • Thats really sad, I ...

    Thats really sad, I think its great he tried to help his friend. To bad he wasnt successful :-(

    By fisheyefilmer20 [Affiliate User] 1227675630 Reply Spam Moderate Up Moderate Down
15 Comments | Add Comment