Ohio fiend had cocaine in system
Retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., his wife, Amy, and their year-old daughter, Isla Rose, were involved in a plane crash in Tennessee on Thursday afternoon, Earnhardt's sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, said on Twitter.
Nobody was hurt, Elizabethton Fire Chief Barry Carrier told station WJHL. Elizabethton is 14 miles south of Bristol Motor Speedway, where Earnhardt is scheduled to work this weekend as part of NBC's broadcast team.
“Everyone is safe and has been taken to the hospital for further evaluation,” Kelley Earnhardt tweeted. “We have no further information at this time. Thank you for your understanding.”
The family's two pilots also were involved and were unhurt, Earnhardt Miller said in her tweet.
Videos posted on Twitter showed the plane's fuselage cracked in two with flames and black smoke billowing from the opening. Photos taken later showed the plane was almost fully engulfed in flames.
Earnhardt transitioned to the broadcast booth in 2018 after 18 seasons in the NASCAR Cup Series, the highest level of stock car racing. There, Earnhardt emerged as not only one of the sport's most talented drivers, but also its most marketable.
Following his father's death in the 2001 Daytona 500, Earnhardt went on to win NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award 15 times. His streak, which ran consecutively from 2003 until his retirement in 2017, fell one short of the record held by Hall of Famer Bill Elliott. The Dayton, Ohio, mass murderer who fatally shot nine people and injured 27 others had cocaine and other drugs in his system at the time of the bloodbath, said a coroner Thursday afternoon.
The doctor added that Xanax, alcohol and other drugs were also discovered in Connor Betts' (photo) body.
Montgomery County coroner Dr. Kent Harshbarger also said that authorities discovered a bag of coke on the the 24-year-old killer's body after police officers shot him dead.
The coroner also reported that the gunman was shot at least 24 times but suffered 52 gunshot wounds, accounting for exit holes.
Police still have no motive for the attack.