Accident during truck-pull leaves pit Jeep driver and 3 spectators badly hurt

Four people are recovering from serious injuries received during a Friday night vehicle accident at Wagler Motorsports Park in Greene County.

The 7:15 p.m. incident, in which a Jeep rolled onto its side after striking three spectators, happened during the 28th Scheid Diesel Extravaganza truck pull and drag racing event.

Two people from Tennessee, one from Ohio and one from Pennsylvania were transported to area hospitals after the crash in critical condition.

On Monday, an update appeared on the racetrack’s Facebook page: “The four people who were injured are in different stages of recovery at this time with non-life-threatening injuries,” it said.

A 911 call that evening reported that a Jeep being used as a pit vehicle had driven out of the truck-pull staging area and into the crowd, where it ran into three people, a side-by-side all-terrain-vehicle, a track rake and another vehicle before rolling onto its side.

Sheriffs’ deputies, medics and volunteer firefighters responded to the scene.

The driver of the 2007 Jeep, 55-year-old Jolanda Hargett from Tennessee, was injured, as were three spectators: 31-year-old Marlin Zimmerman of Pennsylvania, 33-year-old Jared Weaver of Ohio and 30-year-old Joey Rank of Tennessee.

Since 2020, the two-day diesel truck pull has been at Wagler Motorsports, which has a one-eighth-mile long NHRA drag strip and a dirt truck-pulling track. It’s located four miles east of Lyons in southern Greene County.

The accident remains under investigation. Witnesses or anyone with information can contact the Greene County Sheriff’s Office at 812-384-4411.

Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Accident during truck-pull leaves pit Jeep driver and 3 spectators badly hurt