A driver lost control during a drag racing event and slammed into a crowd of spectators, killing two children and injuring eight other people, authorities said.
A 6-year-old boy and an 8-year-old boy were killed in the crash at an event called Airport Race Wars Two at the Kerrville-Kerr County Airport, police said.
The organised event was attended by thousands and involved drivers speeding down a runway as they competed for cash.
The driver “lost control and left the runway, crashing into parked vehicles and striking spectators who were observing the races,” Kerrville police said.
The injured victims were taken to various hospitals, including a 46-year-old woman who was listed in critical condition.
The majority of the other injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, although the condition of a 26-year-old man was unknown, authorities said.
A 4-year-old boy and a 3-month-old girl were taken to a hospital for precautionary evaluations.
Authorities have not released the identities of the two children who were killed at the event about 97 kilometres northwest of San Antonio.
The Kerrville Convention and Visitors Bureau's website promoted the event as an “action-packed, family-friendly day” in which fans could watch the “fastest drag cars compete.”
The race was 200 metres long, and water-filled plastic barriers lined the course.
But Amestoy said they didn’t extend past the finish line, leaving no protection between spectators and cars as they were slowing down at the end of the race.
Spectators could get within about 4.6 metres of the track, and many watched the race from lawn chairs in the absence of stands.
Organisers reminded people to stay in the grass and off the asphalt, Amestoy told The Associated Press in a phone interview.
The driver was nearing the end of the strip when the car veered off course, Amestoy said.
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