Driver writhes in agony after being blasted by scalding radiator fluid at YouTuber’s event
Distressing video footage showed a badly injured driver writing with pain after being doused with scalding radiator fluid at a YouTuber’s event. The unidentified driver stood up and began convulsing with pain moments after being blasted with the chemicals at an event held by YouTube star Cleetus McFarland.
He could be seen desperately trying to get his burning clothes off at the Cleetus and Cars event at the Bradenton Motorsports Park in Florida last Saturday.
The accident happened after the driver repeatedly revved the engine of his car to show off a burnout maneuver, with the crowd initially cheering as the custom vehicle was engulfed with a huge cloud of smoke.
But moments later it became apparent the injured 23 year-old driver was in serious distress, with race track staff and paramedics rushing to help him. He was later airlifted to a hospital in Tampa and treated for serious burns.
Event host McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, has since sparked fury by ignoring the horrific accident on his YouTube upload about the event. A spectator who attended the event uploaded the clip of the driver being injured.
Cleetus and Cars has also drawn condemnation for the non socially-distanced crowd it attracted. His first video claimed that ‘Everyone had a great, safe time.’
Mitchell said that anyone who attended the event did so ‘at their own risk’ and also claimed the Covid pandemic was less serious than experts had warned.
He said: ‘It seems like everybody around here is very healthy.
‘A lot of things I know about the virus come straight from my girlfriend’s friends, who are nurses. The things I hear is the hospitals around here are empty.
A subsequent clip vaguely acknowledged the scalding fluid incident, claiming he had only failed to mention it because ‘he had no idea what the facts were on the situation.’
Mitchell, who has 2.3million YouTube subscribers, addressed the accident on a smaller secondary account with just 367,000 fans, the Miami Herald reported.
He vowed to learn from the incident, saying: ‘From here forward, there’s no doubt that we have to take our safety measures more serious.
‘Everyone needs to be in a full fire suit, covered up head to toe. The more serious we take it, the more we can prevent incidents like this.’
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