Racer in parade tragedy seeks bankruptcy

A drag racer being sued for millions of dollars after his car plowed into a parade crowd, killing six people and injuring dozens more, has filed for bankruptcy protection, records show.

Troy Critchley of Wylie, Texas, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection a week ago and claimed as creditors a dozen pending lawsuits totaling around $100 million, according to The Jackson Sun newspaper.

Filing for Chapter 7 prevents most efforts to collect a debt from the person filing. That could make it difficult for victims' families to pursue their claims against Critchley, some of which ask for as much as $20 million.

The suits, more than 30, stem from the June 16 accident in Selmer, about 36 miles southeast of Jackson, when Critchley's race car crashed into a crowd at the Cars for Kids charity event.

"The accident has devastated him emotionally and ruined him financially," said attorney William Reid of Dallas-based Reid & Dennis, who represents Critchley but is not his bankruptcy attorney. "He really had no choice."

The Tennessee Highway Patrol is still investigating the crash, and no one has been criminally charged.

"Our hearts go to the families," Reid said. "We feel horrible about it, and we are really trying to catch our breaths and go on like they are."

Attorneys for the families say the filing could hinder their efforts to pursue claims.

"It makes it that much more difficult," said Lewis Cobb, of the Jackson-based Spragins, Barnett & Cobb law firm representing some of the victims' families. He said attorneys could ask that a court lift the bankruptcy protection, which he called "a brick wall."

Critchley listed about $221,000 in assets, including a home, furnishings, cars and savings, according to court records. His bankruptcy attorney in Dallas did not immediately return a call Friday.

Some of the lawsuits also name car owners AMS Staff Leasing Inc., Florida-based Tindle Enterprises Inc. and its subsidiary racing companies, Phoenix-based Active Marketing Motor Sports Inc., Cars for Kids and the city of Selmer.

The lawsuits accuse the city of allowing the drag-racing stunt to take place without a permit and failing to protect spectators by not requiring barriers.

They also allege that Cars for Kids was negligent in not taking proper precautions for controlling the race car and that Critchley was driving the car recklessly while performing a "burnout" _ spinning a car's tires sending up clouds of smoke.