Australian karting fatality

The Australian Karting Association sadly acknowledges the tragic death of one of its members during a race meeting in Western Australia today.

54-year-old Perth resident Graham Peterson was competing in a kart meeting at The Impala Kart Club at Tom Price, about 1130km north of Perth, when his twin engined 200cc kart left the circuit.

Mr Peterson, a long-time and passionate karter in WA, was treated by paramedics at the scene of the accident before being transported by Ambulance to the Tom Price Regional Hospital where he was announced dead just after 12:30pm. At this stage it is not known what caused the accident.

Mr Peterson was a well respected member of the tight knit Western Australian karting community. He had been a member of the Tiger Kart Club in Perth since 1995, held a committee position since 1996 and was the current Vice-President of the organisation.

AKA President, Mr Richard Erdmann, said today's incident was a tragedy which would touch the entire Australian karting community.

"First and foremost our sincerest sympathies go to Graham's wife Pam, his daughters Bronwyn, Katherine and Rosslyn along with all of his family and friends," said Erdmann.

"Tragedies like these are very rare in our sport and when they do happen they have an effect on the entire karting community.

"The AKA and its 92 affiliated clubs and some 7000 members follow the strictest safety guidelines week in and week out around the country, but unfortunately we can never be totally immune from tragedies like the one we have experienced today.

"The AKA has one of the best safety records of any karting organisation in the world and will be involved in a full investigation into the accident."

Mr Peterson's death is the first AKA competition race fatality since Nicole Franks in a street race in Wollongong in 2002.

Mr Peterson is survived by his wife Pam and his three daughters Bronwyn, Katherine and Rosslyn.

The AKA will post funeral and other related details for WA members when they become available.

-credit: aka