LOS ANGELES (AFP) – A contestant in a night-time desert race in California lost control of his pick-up truck and plowed into a group of spectators, killing eight and injuring at least 12, officials said on Sunday.

Police did not identify the driver involved in the accident. Local reports said he needed to be escorted away from the area when spectators threatened him and began throwing rocks.

“He got airborne and when he landed, rolled over straight into the spectators,” CHP officer Joaquin Zubieta said in the Los Angeles Times. “People didn’t have much of a chance… to get out of the way.” Read the rest here.