TEXAS CITY, Texas Race car driver and Texas City native Travis Rilat is in a Seattle hospital being treated for third-degree burns to 62 percent of his body after a stunt that went awry.
The 33-year-old Texas City High School graduate and his crew chief, Tyson Perez, were burned when a fuel barrel caught fire and exploded Sunday.
Perez, a native of Australia, died Wednesday.
According to reports from the Sedro-Woolley, Wash., Fire Department the two men were at a racing supply shop when they attempted a stunt called a barrel ride.
Fire Chief Dean Klinger told the Skagit Valley Herald the men put about 4 gallons of methanol in a 55-gallon barrel in the parking lot Sunday night, sat on top and lit it.
Apparently it was supposed to slide across the parking lot like a rocket, Klinger said. Instead, it blew up.
Rilat was in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where he had undergone two surgeries, family members said.
Rilat s parents, Dorothy and Greg, operated Curl s Bait Center on the Texas City Dike for several decades before Hurricane Ike destroyed the business in 2008. The sprint car driver moved to the Dallas-area community of Forney, where he and his wife, Maryanna, operate a car interior business.
Rilat was named the American Sprint Car Series champion in 1993 and was in Washington for a series of races, his wife said.
He s a tough guy, Rilat s sister, Ashley Nixon, said. He s given us the occasional thumbs up to let us know he was OK. He was able to open his eyes and nod his head yes or no.
Nixon said doctors expect Rilat will have to remain in the Seattle hospital up to three months before he can be transferred to a Dallas-area hospital.
Family members were searching out an apartment near the Seattle hospital so someone from the family always would be there while Rilat recovers from his injuries.
I know he is a fighter, Nixon said. I knew he is going to win this race.
Maryanna Rilat, a nurse, and Rilat have a 6-month-old daughter.
Maryanna Rilat said she is prepared for the long recovery process.
I realize this is a big roller coaster, she said. Every day there s another dip or a loop.
She said she will have to return home to Texas on Sunday to go back to work, but her employer was attempting to find out if her insurance provided for catastrophic coverage so she can be by her husband s side as he recovers.
Back home, friends are rallying to hold fundraisers to help the family defer medical costs and the costs associated with traveling between Texas and Seattle for the next 90 days.
Shauna Smith Rhodes, whose family once owned Boyd s One Stop on the dike, established a Team Travis Facebook webpage that provides regular updates on his condition and has a link for supporters to make donations. She said friends will get together Monday to plan a local event to help collect more money.
There s a lot of support coming from the racing community, Nixon said. Tons of support from people wanting to help out and make donations.
