Police reveal cause of crash that killed racer Jessi Combs

Taryn Ryder
Updated ·2 min read
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Jessi Combs's cause of death has been revealed two months after her fatal jet car accident, as the Harney County Sheriff's Office announced it had completed its investigation.

"Based on the evidence collected and examined at the scene of the crash and the evidence recovered by the North American Race Team it appears that there was a mechanical failure of the front wheel, most likely caused from striking an object on the desert," Lieutenant Brian Needham said in a press release. "The front wheel failure led to the front wheel assembly collapsing. The front wheel failure occurred at speeds approaching 550 miles per hour."

Her cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma, which happened before the vehicle was engulfed in flames. Yahoo Entertainment reached out to a representative for the Combs family, but did not immediately receive a response.

Combs, dubbed the "fastest woman on four wheels," was attempting to break her own land-speed record in Oregon when the crash occurred.

"It is with extreme grief, and in celebration of her life that her family and close friends share that race car driver, and TV personality Jessi Combs, passed away in a fatal crash, as she pursued setting a land speed record in the North American Eagle on August, 27th 2019 on a dry lake bed in Oregon," a spokesperson for the Combs family told Yahoo Entertainment at the time.

"Jessi’s bright smile, positivity, and tenacious pursuit of her dreams inspired everyone who met her. Her drive and spirit were infectious, and she served as a role model for young girls and women around the world," the statement continued. "People that loved her and followed her became family, all bonded together by adventure and passion. Her fans adored her, and she lived to inspire them. Jessi’s most notable dream was to become the fastest woman on Earth, a dream she had been chasing since 2012. Combs was one of the rare dreamers with the bravery to turn those possibilities into reality, and she left this earth driving faster than any other woman in history."

Combs's boyfriend Terry Madden called the accident "horrific." He has continued to honor her on social media.

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A post shared by Terry L. Madden (@terry_madden) on

While racing was her passion, Combs also hosted a slew of television shows including All Girls Garage, Overhaulin’ and a season of Discovery's MythBusters. She was 39.

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