Driver Killed On Short Track: Amanda Gambacorto Dies After Hitting Wall On NJ Speedway

A driver was killed on a short track in a head-on crash while driving at a race clinic.

USA Today reports on the devastating story out of Wall, New Jersey that happened Saturday afternoon. Amanda Gambacorto from Middletown, New Jersey attended a clinic driving in the novice three-quarter midget racing program held at Wall Stadium Speedway. Her car hit the second turn wall after following another racer. No other vehicle was involved, according to Capt. Steve Jones of the State Police.

Amanda, 21, was pronounced dead at the Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune at 1:26 pm.

Police got a call around 12:30 pm about the racetrack crash the woman was in. A friend of Gambacorto’s family says they are too traumatized to discuss the accident.

Jones didn’t elaborate on whether Amanda Gambacorto was a novice driver. Details reveal that she was operating a “three-quarter midget, 75 percent of the size of a full midget — an open-wheel miniature race car, about 8 to 9 feet in length, weighing about 650 pounds,” the report explains. The vehicles can go faster than 90 mph on a banked, oval track.

The woman was taking lessons from the Green Flag Driving Experience, which handles on-track instruction for beginning drivers at the speedway, Jones shares.

Racing officials are declining to comment about the fatal racetrack crash.

Gambacorot’s LinkedIn page indicates that she attended Stony Brook University, studying environmental humanities and philosophy.

In a report on News 12, Amanda drove on the speedway as part of her birthday 21st birthday celebration. Her father purchased her a three-quarter midget car, but neighbors claim that the vehicle the woman died in wasn’t the one her father gave to her.

The Alpha Sigma Alpha sorority at Stony Brook University sends their condolences over the loss of their fellow sister:

“For those who didn’t know Amanda that well, she was a fiery spirit who would try anything once.”

According to state police, all safety equipment was in place before Gambacorto was in the deadly crash. The report on News 12 also reveals that the woman died as a result of severe head trauma.

This tragic accident happens exactly one week after Kevin Ward Jr., 20, was killed in a high-profile race taking place August 9 at Canandaigua Motorsports Park in upstate New York. He was struck by famous NASCAR driver, Tony Stewart. Stewart has since dropped out of subsequent races following the accident. The Inquisitr has covered this story, as well as follow-up reports.

[Photo Credit: Facebook via NY Daily News]