3 storm chasers killed in 2-vehicle accident near Spur, Texas

[Tim Paitz]

The worst part of this was that this accident was quite avoidable.

Kelley seemed like he chased everything. It didn't matter when, where, or what, he chased it.

Keeping the families of Kelley, Randy and Corey in my thoughts and prayers.

 

[Warren Faidley]

Tragic news. Hopefully chasers will also reach out to those who stopped to help. It's something you don't soon forget. And let's not forget the third chaser who lost his life, although a lot of us do not know his name. Here is a bio from his website at madwx.com.

"Corbin has had the "weather bug" since an early age. Growing up in Colorado, he saw many incredible High Plains storms that furthered his passion for weather. While traveling cross country through North Dakota to visit family, Corbin saw his first real tornado on June 6, 1999, just a few days before his 8th birthday. After witnessing that large cone drop in the field in front of him, he became even more addicted to severe weather. Corbin moved to Northern California for a few years, where somewhat exciting weather happens maybe four times a year. For a while, he forgot what a storm even was. In 2011, he moved to Arizona and was greeted by the historic July 5 Phoenix dust storm. This event opened his eyes to the amazing weather of Arizona, and he has been chasing the monsoon ever since. In 2014, Corbin decided that it was time to expand his chasing territory, and he began chasing out in Tornado Alley in addition to the Desert Southwest. Corbin and Trey first met each other at the 2014 Arizona ChaserCon (MonsoonCon's first iteration) before teaming up to chase both the monsoon and the incredible weather of the Great Plains."

 

[Jeff Duda]

If this really was caused because one of Yarnell or Williamson was distracted, ran a stop sign, and hit Jaeger at highway speed, as seems to have been the case, then I personally am angered and frustrated. Nevermind the two older people - a young person who still had much of his life ahead of him seems to have been needlessly killed; a life cut short, completely unnecessarily.

I had not met any of those three, and was only familiar with Williamson's name, but my heart mainly goes out to the family of Corbin Jaeger. It seems very much like he did absolutely nothing to deserve this. His death is much more tragic than that of Yarnell or Williamson, IMO.

 

[Marc R. O'Leary]

Jeff, if you look at the photos from the local news article, it shows what is likely Corbin's Jeep having sustained head on damage. That along with Williamson's live stream vid screaming into an intersection towards a stop sign, it's pretty clear what happened.

Weather be damned, road rules exist for a reason. These are the consequences.

 

[joel ewing]

Calculating based on road landmarks in Kelley's live stream, he was traveling at approximately 75 mph. The speed limit was the rural-Texas-highway-standard 70 mph. Kelley's live stream also showed no other vehicles on either road. It did not appear to be an act of deliberate recklessness, rather a simple but tragic mistake that any of us could have made - chasers or not.

You are absolutely correct, Dan....this COULD have been ANY of us. I'll come clean and make the personal confession that on 2 separate storm chases in the Texas panhandle in the early 1990's, I too blew through clearly marked stop signs at full speed plus. Both instances were during the bright afternoon sun, the roads were beautiful and there was no severe weather in the immediate area at the time. I had not ingested any alcohol or illegal drugs. Had there been traffic crossing the intersection on either occasion....the results would have been identical to what happened earlier today. I CAN tell you that both times I was DEAD TIRED from my constant running and gunning throughout tornado alley, chasing storms for several weeks prior. We all know and love "the rush" that we get from chasing, but I assure you, the older you get, the more you begin to notice how much energy this endeavor takes from you. Unless you're getting good, quality sleep and eating properly to replenish these depleted necessities...it becomes harder and harder to "keep it together" and be 100% sharp while on the road. I have a hunch that maybe.....maybe....this COULD have played a part in this tragedy. We shall see. And to semi-quote Dan Robinson once again...."this is a simple but tragic mistake that ANY OF US could have made".

 

[joel ewing]

If this really was caused because one of Yarnell or Williamson was distracted, ran a stop sign, and hit Jaeger at highway speed, as seems to have been the case, then I personally am angered and frustrated. Nevermind the two older people - a young person who still had much of his life ahead of him seems to have been needlessly killed; a life cut short, completely unnecessarily.

I had not met any of those three, and was only familiar with Williamson's name, but my heart mainly goes out to the family of Corbin Jaeger. It seems very much like he did absolutely nothing to deserve this. His death is much more tragic than that of Yarnell or Williamson, IMO.

Good Lord, Jeff......it's a freakin' accident and 3 families are wailing in pain as we speak. To profess an assessment of which victim is more deserving of your anger than another is absolutely without dignity. I say this to you with respect, my brother.

 

[Justin Hassie]

I looked at RadarScope earlier and saw how many people were on one storm and told my wife I couldn't imagine trying to chase with so many other people in the same spot. I've seen the videos of chasers trying to get through hoards of people to keep up with a storm. I enjoyed watching Kelley's chases as he quite often had a great view. All 3 died doing something they loved but it could have just as easily been a mom with kids that got hit. We all need to be more careful, whether we're chasing or not. My prayers go out to their families and friends as well as those that had to witness and investigate this tragedy. Don't be the next statistic; keep your eyes on the road when you're behind the wheel, and pull completely off the road to stop and take pictures/video. No storm is worth getting killed over or killing someone else.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Stormtrack mobile app

 

[David Hoadley]

A tragedy like this reminds some of us of our own close calls on the highway, and why we always need to think for the other driver as well as ourselves. Several years ago, I was chasing an early evening Illinois storm, moving toward Springfield. I was driving up Hwy 29, having just passed Taylorville. With fading daylight, I could still see storm base over the trees to the northwest. It had a lowering -but nothing exciting- so was in no hurry. I briefly noticed a distant car on the right and approaching the highway ahead, kicking up dust on an unpaved farm road. My lights were on so assumed the driver saw me and would stop --and I had the right-of-way. Intermittent trees and shrubs occasionally hid him from view, so my attention was again drawn to an occasional glance at the storm. Suddenly, approaching headlights. No time to slow. A split second! --He barreled through the intersection at warp speed, less than a car length in front!-- Too fast to be scared or hold a thought. In that brief instant, I saw he was a young kid --probably not a chaser but a local, having driven that road many times before and never had to stop. Tragedies like Spur remind us always to think for the other driver. Never assume. Perhaps this is what happened there. If only a handful of us now back off a little, maybe that loss will not have been in vain. - - - My near experience with eternity one evening in Illinois certainly taught me.

 

[CGardner]

Prayers for their families. I always looked up to Randy and Kelley being a SWMO guy myself.

 

[Todd Lemery]

I've waited until now to post my thoughts. My prayers go out to the families who today have to wake up knowing they'll never see their loved ones again. Very, very sad. This accident, while completely unintentional, should make us focus more while we are driving. Not just while chasing, in our day to day lives too. I know that over time tragedies such as this slowly tend to fade. Therefore, please don't be offended by my little yellow blinky light that is on to help you see that I'm sharing the road with you.

 

[James Wilson]

Very tragic and I cannot imagine what the families are experiencing. Thoughts to them at this time.

We all get distracted while chasing ... I ended up going through a 90 degree turn last year while chasing and luckily we were ok. What is really bad in this situation IMO was that Corbin was just driving along and got hit by someone's else's distraction. Just goes to show we have to be aware of EVERYTHING while chasing and look for ANYTHING to happen. This is a reason I have started chasing with multiple people in the vehicle with me now ... everyone has a job now including the driver which is to JUST drive. A bit safer I think and hope.

I hope this is the last time but I fear it's not with more and more chasers on the roads. :-(

 

[Austin Davis]

Thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims.

There is going to be a lot of scrutiny towards spotters/chasers in coming weeks. Please folks, adhere to all posted speed limits, wear your seat belts, and pay attention while you are driving! Do not become distracted as this could have been avoided.

 

[Jesse Risley]

This is horrible. Based on what some media outlets have released, it does appear that distracted driving was a factor. I've always been cognizant of the fact that the roadways are arguably the biggest danger to chasers, both because of the laws of probability related to being on the roadway relative to general accident risk, and the fact that we often flirt with rules of the road in the pursuit of storms that can travel well beyond highway speeds, with equipment that can take our mind off of the important task of navigating the steering wheel. I, too, have been guilty of making some serious driving miscalculations while chasing. My thoughts are certainly with the immediate family and friends of those impacted in yesterday's accident. This is a brutal reminder that keeping one's eyes on the road is always paramount.

 

[Mike DeLange]

If this really was caused because one of Yarnell or Williamson was distracted, ran a stop sign, and hit Jaeger at highway speed, as seems to have been the case, then I personally am angered and frustrated. Nevermind the two older people - a young person who still had much of his life ahead of him seems to have been needlessly killed; a life cut short, completely unnecessarily.

I had not met any of those three, and was only familiar with Williamson's name, but my heart mainly goes out to the family of Corbin Jaeger. It seems very much like he did absolutely nothing to deserve this. His death is much more tragic than that of Yarnell or Williamson, IMO.

I can understand the anger/frustration and don't mean to sound trite here but this was obviously an accident, a tragic one at that. All families and friends of those involved must be experiencing tremendous pain. May those lost rest in peace and all others left with a reminder to be safe and vigilant while chasing, safety above all else.

 

[Brad Dormer]

I still don't even have words to describe what I felt when I found out it was them.... Came home and saw "triple-fatality wreck involving storm chasers near Spur, Texas" and thought "Oh, great." Saw the photos of the vehicles involved and my heart sank to lower depths than it ever has. I never knew Corbin Jaeger, but I knew Kelley and Randy from their streams. I had watched almost all of Kelley's streams, not the full streams, just a few of the action-packed moments, and I showed up at least once or twice everytime he was live and I had time to watch. Yes, they made a mistake, a mistake that ended their and another young man's lives, it's a mistake that was preventable but could have happened to any of us. Just because they were distractedly driving doesn't mean they should have any less respect and mourning than the other young man, just imagine the pain those families are all going through right now.