SCARBOROUGH — A 47-year-old Standish man died after the last race at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway on Saturday night when his foot slipped off the bumper of a pickup he was riding on and he fell in the path of the trailer it was towing.

Gregory Rowe was catching a ride on the back of the Sally Gherardi racing team’s pickup from the pit area out of the track when the accident occurred at about 11:30 p.m., said Scarborough Detective Sgt. Rick Rouse. The Ford F-150 pickup, driven by Timothy Hatch, 32, of Standish, was going no more than 15 mph when Rowe fell, Rouse said.

Rowe apparently had one foot on the bumper and the other may have been on the tongue of the trailer, Rouse said.

“Beech Ridge has been open since the ‘50s … that’s probably the first time that’s ever happened,” Rouse said. ”It’s a tragic accident.”

The area is kept smooth by the track because it is used during the race and the truck did not hit a bump, Rouse said.

The speedway issued a statement about the incident.

“We at Beech Ridge Motor Speedway would like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt condolences to one of our race teams and its families following an unfortunate loss late Saturday night,” the statement read. “We know the entire Beech Ridge community shares in your grieving process and will continue to hold you in its thoughts and prayers.”


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