A mechanical failure at high speed caused the crash that killed racer, reporter and show host Jessi Combs on Aug. 27, according to investigators from the Harvey County sheriff’s office in Oregon.
“Based on the evidence collected and examined at the scene of the crash…it appears that there was a mechanical failure of the front wheel, most likely caused from striking an object on the desert,” investigators wrote in their report released Monday. TMZ first reported on the investigators’ findings.
The one-page report from investigators is brief and doesn’t specify what the object was that Combs’ struck in her jet-powered car. Combs was driving the car near Fields, Oregon, in the Alvord Desert while attempting to set a land-speed record.
Investigators determined that Combs died due to blunt-force trauma caused by the crash. A fire quickly engulfed the jet-powered car after the crash.
Jessi Combs was 39, and her television credits include “Mythbusters,” “All Girls Garage” and “Overhaulin’.”
This article was originally published by Motor Authority, an editorial partner of ClassicCars.com.
