LOS ANGELES – A federal agency says it had just one ranger patrolling a 50-mile off-road race where a competing truck fatally struck eight spectators too close to the Mojave Desert course.
The Bureau of Land Management said Wednesday the ranger was patrolling the course in the Johnson Valley off-road vehicle area on Aug. 14 when a spectator flagged him down and reported the accident.
The BLM has said the race organizer was responsible for spectator safety, but the tragedy has raised questions about the agency's oversight of such events.
The agency would not say how many rangers would typically staff such an event. However, the BLM had eight employees staff a motorcycle race in the same area last weekend.
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