Cause of High-Speed Accident That Killed ‘Mythbusters’ Alum Jessi Combs Released

Combs’ August accident was caused by “a mechanical failure of the front wheel”

Jessi Combs
Getty Images

Investigators have determined the cause of the high-speed accident that killed race car driver and former “Mythbusters” host Jessi Combs.

According to Autoblog, the Harney County Sheriff’s Office found that Combs, attempting to break her own land-speed record, was traveling at speeds reaching 550 miles per hour when a “mechanical failure of the front wheel, most likely caused from striking an object on the desert,” led to the crash.

Known as “The fastest woman on four wheels,” Combs died in August while trying to break her own 398 mph land-speed record in a dry lake bed in an Oregon desert. The mechanical failure “led to the front wheel assembly collapsing,” according to the report.

Combs was killed by blunt force trauma to the head before the vehicle was engulfed in flames. She was 39 years old.

In addition to her stint as a temporary co-host of Discovery’s “Mythbusters” in 2009, Combs also appeared on a number of TV shows dedicated to racing and automobiles, including Velocity’s “Overhaulin’” and the Spike TV series “Xtreme 4×4.”

Comments