Hours after news hit of Jessi Combs‘ sudden death, a video has surfaced claiming to be reported footage of the crash that killed the race car driver and TV personality. In the five-second clip, a fiery explosion can be seen behind two portable toilets before the screen goes dark. It’s unclear if the footage, posted by an account called sportsmusic rwc, is legitimate. The account mostly posts soccer compilation videos.
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Combs died Tuesday in a tragic crash in Oregon’s Alvord Desert while driving her jet-powered land-speed car. She was attempting to break her own land-speed record, Popular Mechanics reported. Combs held the title of “fastest woman on four wheels” after setting a record of 398 mph in her jet-powered North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger in 2013. More recently, she piloted that same car to 483.227 mph in a single shakedown run in October 2018, although the run ended prematurely due to mechanical troubles.
Additionally, Combs was known for appearing in TV shows, including Mythbusters (where she was a host and a builder for one season), All Girls Garage, Xtreme 4×4, Overhaulin’, Truck U and Two Guys Garage.
The automobile industry mourned her loss after the news of her death hit on Wednesday.
Terry Madden, Combs’ boyfriend and a member on her team, shared a montage of photos of the two of them as well as video clips of them together. He wrote that he has “never loved or been loved by anyone as much as this amazing woman,” whom he called his “unicorn.”
“I enjoyed every single minute that I had with her. She was the most amazing spirit that I have ever or will ever know.”
He wrote that he was the first one on the scene after the crash and that “we did everything humanly possible to save her.”
Mythbusters stars Adam Savage, Kari Byron and Tory Bellici have all spoken out in tribute of Combs.
“I’m so so sad, Jessi Combs has been killed in a crash,” Savage wrote on Twitter. “She was a brilliant & too-notch builder, engineer, driver, fabricator, and science communicator, & strove everyday to encourage others by her prodigious example. She was also a colleague, and we are lesser for her absence.” He later added, “My heart goes out to her family.”
Byron wrote, “So sad to hear about Jessi. She was a badass. Always pushing limits. Sending smiles into the universe for her.”
“Absolutely gutted to hear the news of [Jessi Combs] You’re a legend Jessi and I will miss you my friend,” Bellici said.
