Former MythBusters star and Professional racer Jessi Combs passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 27 in an accident while trying to break her own land speed record in a jet-powered vehicle. TMZ has obtained video of Combs’ land-speed record attempt taken before her fatal crash, with the footage showing the racer traveling at incredibly high speeds for over a minute and observing no signs of trouble.
In the clip, Combs’ vehicle is a tiny blur as it zooms across the screen, leaving a trail of fumes in its wake as it speeds through the Alvord Desert in Oregon.
Videos by PopCulture.com
Combs had set a women’s land speed class record in 2013 and broken her own record in 2016, leading to her being dubbed the “Fastest Woman on Four Wheels.” Before her fatal crash, she had been attempting to break her own record yet again. After the video above concluded, Combs’ car started to come apart before the vehicle crashed.
The cause of Combs’ crash is still unknown and under investigation, according to the Harney County Sheriff’s Office.
The 39-year-old’s boyfriend, Terry Madden, was the first to break the news of her death. Madden has since been posting tributes to Combs on Instagram, sharing photos from their time together with fans and revealing the stories behind each image.
Madden’s post on Wednesday, Sept. 4 was a slideshow of photos from a trip he and Combs had taken to Red River, New Mexico, with the snaps including a selfie of the couple and glimpse of the scenery.
Madden shared in his caption that the two had stayed at a friend’s cabin in Red River before setting out in search of some hot springs the next morning, following directions that had been written on a napkin.
View this post on Instagram
“It was snowing hard on the 2 – 2.5 mile hike down to the hot springs. Soon as we got there we looked up and that’s when we found it ‘scary cat cave’,” he recalled. “There was this little cave with hot spring running out of it, we walked inside it’s freezing out and really nice and warm in the cave stood there in the doorway and watched the big wet flakes hit the hot springs and melt for a while. Then we turned around to explore the cave.”
Madden wrote that when they did so, he noticed a pair of eyes watching them, which belonged to a mountain lion. He told Combs to leave the cave several times before she got the hint, “All the while thinking man if I shoot this thing with a 9mm I’m just gonna piss it off and blow out our ears in this cave.”
“This time she gets the hint backs out,” he wrote of his next attempt at warning his girlfriend. “I slowly work my way to the door saying it’s ok big fellow we are leaving don’t worry, and kitty disappears back behind the rock. We got outside and she says why leave could have just talked to him, I looked at her funny, and she says, well he can’t help it if homeless probably living there to stay warm, that’s when I explained to her it was a large cat not a homeless guy and we took off running thru (sic) the snow flakes back to the truck.”
Photo Credit: Getty / Albert L. Ortega
