Written by Staff Writer at CNN Written by Staff Writer at CNN
The American driver involved in a cross-country stunt, which triggered a crash at the Belgian Grand Prix, has been questioned by police.
Supercross star Caleb Moore, who had just crossed the finish line in fifth place, collided with another racer after a field invasion by others angry at the out-of-sequence end of the race.
Ward Loesch was on the track when the crash occurred and later slammed into the moving debris. After exiting his car, Moore was struck by three people before police could intervene.
Caleb Moore sits in his race car after crashing into Ward Loesch. Credit: AP
Initially, it was thought that Moore, who was making his return to the track after 15 months out with a torn quad, had been at fault in the incident.
But police told CNN that they were not investigating Moore’s involvement in the crash, and the American was later questioned at a local police station on Monday evening. He was released and allowed to leave the area.
The incident happened at about 10 p.m. local time. A statement released by the Belgian police said that they were “investigating the case after Ward Loesch’s car hit out-of-sequence fireworks and got involved in a fight with several spectators.”
Ward Loesch is led away from the accident site by police. Credit: AP
Gruesome scenes
After the crash, no one in Moore’s car escaped the scene unscathed. The star, who is known for finishing third at the Indianapolis 500, was taken to hospital where he was diagnosed with a torn ACL and some possible ligament damage to his LCL, which would require surgery, according to Motorsport.com.
He took to Twitter on Wednesday to admit that his injury would be a “big blow.”
“I’m sad to say I will be out of the MotoGP World Championship for the rest of the season,” he wrote. “This is the biggest blow I have ever taken in racing but this is sport. I’ll be back stronger than ever. But now I’ll take some time to recover.”
News of Moore’s crash emerged just hours after MotoGP announced that Spanish rider Marc Marquez had clinched his fourth MotoGP title.
In another bloody incident, Italian rider Michele Pirro lost an eye after coming off his bike during the San Marino Grand Prix in September.