The parents of Aidan Zingg, a 16-year-old motocross star who died June 28 during a race in Mammoth Lakes, Calif., submitted a wrongful death and survival lawsuit to the Superior Court of California in Riverside County for filing against the American Motorcyclist Association (AMA) and other entities involved in the race, according to an electronic confirmation generated by the court Tuesday, Dec. 30.
The parents alleged the fatal collision was preventable and resulted from careless race operations and defective safety equipment, according to a copy of the complaint reviewed by USA TODAY Sports.
After initially going down on the track, Aidan was conscious and alert as he made attempts to regain his feet, according to the complaint, which states no caution flags or warnings were raised by race operators as the race continued at Mammoth Mountain Motocross.
According to the complaint, Aidan’s jersey and equipment showed visible signs of being struck by at least one other rider, according to the complaint, which says the chest protector Zingg wore during the race was punctured.
Despite efforts to perform life-saving measures on Aidan, he was pronounced dead at Mammoth Hospital later that day, according to the complaint.
According to the electronic confirmation of the filing, the documents submitted to the court by the Zinggs’ attorney will be accepted, partially accepted or rejected by the Clerk of Court. The confirmation provides no timetable for the process to be completed.
A wrongful death lawsuit seeks compensation for surviving relatives based on the economic and emotional impact of the death. A survival action lawsuit seeks compensation for costs the deceased person may have incurred before death and compensation for the deceased person’s conscious pain and suffering from the time of injury to death.
“Most of all, the Zingg family is seeking transparency and accountability wherever it is fair and just,” attorney Kevin Biniazan, representing the family, said in a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports. ‘If this legal action motivates safer operations of these races and equipment that these riders wear in a way that saves another family from enduring what the Zinggs have endured and will continue to endure, it will have been a success.”
Is Motocross the deadliest sport for youth? An Investigation
Aidan is one of at least 158 children and teens who have died on dirt bikes and at motocross tracks since 2000, according to a USA TODAY Investigation. That makes it the deadliest sport for young people – roughly seven times greater than tackle football.
During the USA TODAY investigation, a spokesperson for the AMA said it has longstanding safety protocols for its sanctioned events and can’t control unaffiliated tracks.
But the lawsuit filed by Aidan’s parents, Robert and Shari, says Mike Burkeen, Deputy Director of Racing for the AMA, was present at Mammoth Motocross June 20-29 and “possessed the responsibility and authority to manage the racing activities to preserve the safety of riders.’’ The races were sanctioned by the AMA.
In addition to the AMA, other defendants named in the lawsuit include 2XP LLC, a California-based company that worked with the AMA to promote the annual amateur races; Alterra Mountain Company U.S. Inc., a hospitality company in Denver that owns Mammoth Mountain; and Revelyst Adventure Sports that does business as Fox Racing and manufactures motocross protective equipment, including the chest protector Aidan wore during the fatal crash, according to the complaint.
The AMA and 2XP, according to the complaint, entered into a joint venture and agreement ‘to plan,organize, operate, promote, and oversee the motocross racing at Mammoth Motocross.”
The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment USA TODAY Sports submitted by phone, text message and email.
Aidan Zingg’s death timeline, according to complaint
The day of the race, Aidan, a prodigy with Kawasaki’s prestigious Green Team program, was participating in the morning 250B class race, according to the complaint. The complaint says Aidan went down after rounding the corner at Turn 9, which was the furthest from the start line where most spectators were located, according to the complaint.
The corner was left unmanned by flaggers, who raise and wave flags to communicate cautions and dangers, including when a rider goes down, according to the complaint. The complaint described that decision to leave the turn unmanned as a, “particularly reckless decision.’’
No caution flags or warnings were raised by race operators when Aidan went down and, according to riders, he was conscious and attempted to regain his feet. He was found later face down on the racetrack.
The race had continued for approximately three more laps before it was stopped, according to the complaint, which says Aidan’s father became alarmed when he did not see his son lap the track with the other riders, according to the complaint.
Making his way to the back of the track, Aidan’s father saw his son on the track, according to the complaint, which says Aidan’s father and others “swarmed’’ to render aid, but Aidan was pronounced dead at Mammoth Hospital later in the day.
The complaint also cited design, construction, and maintenance or some combination thereof, in creating ‘a dangerous condition at Turn 9 because of a near hairpin turn coming out of a jump and into another.”
“The design, construction, and maintenance of Turn 9 increased the risk of riders crashing into each other while riding or crashing into a rider who had fallen on the track and created a heightened risk of injury by participating in Mammoth Motocross as compared to other motocross races or tracks,’’ according to the complaint.
The AMA and 2XP “coordinated and approved a crowded field of 29 riders’’ who competed in the 250B class race.
Aidan’s parents have demanded a jury trial and are seeking damages, including but not limited to, pain, suffering, and disfigurement and other losses or damages that the decedent sustained or incurred before death, according to the complaint.
