Jessi Combs Mourned by ‘Mythbusters’ Co-Star Kari Byron: ‘She Was a Badass’

Kari Byron joined the chorus of people mourning Jessi Combs on social media on Wednesday. Byron knew Combs well from their time on Mythbusters together, and she sang her praises in a tweet.

Byron retweeted a headline about Combs’ passing just before noon on Wednesday. She tagged their old show, Mythbusters, in a note about how much she would miss her co-star and friend.

“So sad to hear about Jessi,” she wrote. “She was a badass. Always pushing limits. Sending smiles into the universe for her.”

Byron’s post picked up nearly 3,000 likes and over 450 retweets in just a few hours. In the replies, fans shared their own memories of Combs, and their own grief over her passing.

“She was great on MB, as in the many garage shows,” one fan tweeted. “You will be missed.”

Many fans recalled seeing Combs on Mythbusters. Notably, some remembered times when she filled in for Byron herself, when the hostess was out sick or during her pregnancy.

“I remember when I heard that Kari was going on [maternity] leave, I was worried the show just wouldn’t be the same with her gone… but Jessi did a bang-up job of keeping the energy levels up when she filled in, and her fabrication skills were top notch!” one person wrote. “Such terrible news.”

Combs passed away on Tuesday afternoon while trying to break her own land-speed record set in 2018. The 39-year-old stunt driver and metal fabricator was driving a custom jet car in the Alvord Desert, where she reportedly crashed. She passed away on the scene.

Combs earned the title of “fastest woman on four wheels” back in 2013, when she set a speed record of 398 miles per hour. At the time, she was driving the North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger, a jet-powered car.

Last year, Combs beat that record by a long shot, hitting a speed of 483 miles per hour and further ensuring her title. However, this time around when she went for it again, she was met by tragedy.

Combs was a builder on Mythbusters, where she brought her fabrication expertise to the series strange and shifting needs. She also helped bring about All Girls Garage on Velocity, and she was frequently seen on other garage shows, such as Xtreme 4×4, Overhaulin’, Truck U and Two Guys Garage.

Combs is survived by her boyfriend, Terry Madden, who announced her passing in a heartfelt Instagram post.

“So I don’t know how to say any of this but it all needs said,” he wrote. “I have never loved or been loved by anyone as much as this amazing woman [Jessi Combs] she was truly my unicorn and I enjoyed every single minute that I had with her. She was the most amazing spirit that I have ever or will ever know.”