CONCORD — Authorities say alcohol may have been a factor in a fatal motorcycle collision that happened Saturday at Charlotte Motor Speedway after an event to honor Vietnam veterans.
Alan Richard Mockus, 66, of Alto, Ga., and Thomas Franklin Hollingsworth, 71, of Piedmont, S.C., died from injuries they received when their motorcycles collided head-on around 5 p.m.
Deborah Lynn Mockus, 56, who was riding with her husband, remains hospitalized, Concord Police said in a press release.
A crash report “indicates that there is initial evidence of alcohol use by at least one of the operators (Mockus) involved in the collision, but tests are being conducted for both,” the press release said.
The State Medical Examiner’s Office is conducting toxicology tests on both the victims, police said.
The crash happened shortly after a gathering that attracted thousands of people to the speedway for a day-long Vietnam Veterans Homecoming Celebration.
Based on witness statements and evidence found at the scene, the press release said, Mockus was riding his motorcycle from the area around the track’s turn 1, and Hollingsworth was riding from turn 2. Both were on the paved portion of the track and they collided on the lower part of the track between the turns.