CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - September 18, 2011
Three men and two women were found in the RV at the Clarksville
Speedway about noon and there was no sign of foul play, Clarksville
police spokesman Jim Knoll said.
Bill Langford, the director of the event Bikers Who Care, said
he headed to the scene on a four-wheeler when an ambulance and a
fire truck arrived.
"One of our club members came over and said, `Bill, I don't
know you've heard, but they're all dead,"' he said.
Langford said the bikers' group was like a close-knit family and
he was close friends with the people who had died. He identified
them as a married couple who had 8-month-old twins. He was a truck
driver; she was a school teacher.
Another couple also died as well as a co-worker of one of the
men. All were from the Clarksville area about 40 miles northwest of
Nashville.
"Me and these guys had a meeting every Thursday of the year,"
he said. "These three guys are three of my closest friends."
Two of the men worked security on Saturday night during the
event's big party, which featured motorcycle drag races, live music
and fireworks. Bikini and tattoo contests were scheduled and the
charity's website said there was free beer.
It appears a small storage hatch on the RV did not close
properly, allowing fumes from the generator to leak inside the
vehicle, Langford said.
"Most of them didn't get to bed until four o'clock in the
morning, and most of those people didn't go in that trailer at the
same time to go to bed," he said. "I just find that kind that of
strange. Why didn't they notice?"
The bikers who found the bodies were taken to a hospital after
feeling dizzy and light-headed, Langford said. They all had high
amounts of carbon monoxide in their systems, he said.
By Sunday evening, the crowd of a couple of thousand people had
thinned and only a handful of people remained, sitting around
campfires. Nearby, portable toilets were still out and a party tent
was still up with a large American flag on top of it.
Photos from the festival showed yellow police tape around the
camper and tents that had been put up nearby. The camper was later
towed away.
Langford said the bikers collect toys for needy children and
raised funds for Camp Rainbow, a summer camp for seriously ill
children at Land Between the Lakes recreation area on the
Kentucky-Tennessee border. They also contribute to the Buddy Ball
sports league for children with mental and physical disabilities.
It was the 30th year of the event. Knoll said group was very
civic-minded and there had never been any problems at previous
events at the speedway.
Before the bodies were found, Langford told The Leaf-Chronicle
that it had been a wonderful success.
"Well, I'll tell you," he said, "the weather was beautiful,
the temperature was perfect. We had a record crowd, not one
incident ..."
Police would not say if they were investigating whether carbon
monoxide was the cause of the deaths. Knoll said the cause would
have to be determined by a coroner. Police also did not release the
identities of the dead.
Langford promised the festival would be held next year.
"It's going to be hard for next year or two," he said. "But
we're going to keep doing what we do for the kids."
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Online:
www.bikerswhocare.org
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Associated Press writer Rebecca Yonker in Louisville, Ky.,
contributed to this report.
