Up-and-coming drag racer Katarina “Kat” Moller was killed in a tragic accident Thursday evening at Sebring International Raceway in Central Florida.
Moller, 24, of Sarasota, Florida, perished when the red, white and blue jet dragster she was piloting crashed during an exhibition run.
It was the first time Moller had ever driven a jet dragster at Sebring, according to several media reports.
“We knew Kat well and were big fans of her personality and her driving skill,” SIR president and general manager Wayne Estes said in a statement. “Sebring International Raceway and the entire racing community are heartbroken.”
Moller, who idolized legendary NHRA racer John Force, has been drag racing for 13 years, starting in the NHRA Junior Dragster ranks at the age of 11, according to a biography posted on Larsen Motorsports’ web site.
Moller had spent the last five seasons racing for the Larsen team.
According to a media release issued by the track, “the cause of the crash is being investigated by the Highland County Sheriff’s Office, and investigators are asking any spectators who were in attendance and recorded Moller’s run to call the Criminal Investigation Unit at 863-402-7250.”
Moller is the second jet dragster driver to die in a crash in recent months. 80-year-old racer Doug Rose, pilot of the legendary Green Mamba, was killed in August in a crash while racing at a track in Norway, Michigan.
MORE: 80-year-old Green Mamba jet car drag racer Doug Rose dies in crash.