Pro rally driver Ken Block, who later turned an web sensation along with his daring stunts behind the wheel, died aged 55 after a snowmobile accident, his crew Hoonigan Racing mentioned.
“It’s with our deepest regrets that we can confirm that Ken Block passed away in a snowmobile accident today,” Hoonigan mentioned in a press release on posted to Instagram on Monday.
“Ken was a visionary, a pioneer and an icon. And most importantly, a father and husband. He will be incredibly missed.”
The accident occurred in Utah’s Wasatch County. The native Sheriff’s Office mentioned that Block was using on a steep slope when the snowmobile upended and landed on prime of him.
“He was pronounced deceased at the scene from injuries sustained in the accident,” they mentioned in a press release, including that he was using in a gaggle however was alone when the accident occurred.
Having begun his rallying profession in 2005, Block was named Rookie of the Year in the Rally America Championship. He competed in the World Rally Championship and gained a number of rallycross medals on the X Games.
The American additionally co-founded sportswear firm DC Shoes and produced the Gymkhana video collection, which featured him driving on harmful tracks and impediment programs. The collection racked up tens of millions of views on YouTube.
In 2016 he appeared in an episode of the BBC’s rebooted Top Gear, driving round London with actor and host Matt LeBlanc. That look ended in controversy when it was revealed that Block and LeBlanc carried out doughnuts, wheelspins and burnouts, leaving blackened tyre streaks up and down Whitehall in the neighborhood of memorials together with the Cenotaph.
The BBC later apologised and footage containing the Cenotaph was by no means aired.
Reuters contributed to this report
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