Motocross rider Brooke Carlton has died at age 9 after a “freak accident” while racing at California track.
Carlton was “riding an electric motorbike and was struck by another juvenile” on a motorbike at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park on Sunday, June 2, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office.
When deputies arrived on the scene, they found people attempting to revive an unconscious Carlton. She was taken to nearby Inland Valley Medical Center, where she died.
The other rider involved in the accident was treated at the track for minor injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.
Carlton’s parents, Jason and Angie, expressed their grief about their daughter’s death on a GoFundMe page set up in her honor.
Yesterday the good Lord called our dear Brooke Lily to heaven after a freak accident at a local motocross track,” they wrote. “Our entire family is still trying to understand why our Brookie, but we firmly believe that God needed her and called her home to be with him.”
The post continued, “While we take this time to be with our family, PLEASE lift our family into your thoughts and prayers, and hold your loved ones a little tighter for us as we try to navigate through this sudden hurdle in our lives. We love you always and forever Brooke Lily #irideforbrooke.”
Carlton was described as “an absolute sweetheart that could brighten anyone’s day with her warm smile and bright blonde halo of curls” on the fundraising page, which is seeking to raise $70,000.
“For those that REALLY knew Brooke, she was a total spitfire that knew what she wanted and there was no way of getting around it,” the page reads. “One look at her glittering eyes and toothy smile and she could have you convinced that the sky was indeed pink and purple, and that you should ‘buy her an ice cream’ because of it. She loved her parents. She loved her dog Gunner. She loved her grandparents. She loved her brother Landon the most.”
Carlton was an ambassador for motocross brand Go Fast Girls, where her bio page said she loved “to be out on the track competing with other girls and going fast!”
After her death, the Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park — located roughly 70 miles south of Los Angeles — expressed their condolences.
“Due to all legal obligations, we were not allowed to post until now,” read a Monday, June 3, Instagram post. “We are truly sad about the situation. This was such a freak accident as the parent said. This is not a time to bash the track but a time to remember this little girl and support her family.”
The post concluded, “We are a community and we will do our part in supporting the family as well. May you rest in peace Brooke!”