Brooke Carlton, 9-year-old motocross rider, dies in “strange accident” on California race track

A 9-year-old motocross rider tragically died Sunday in a “brief accident” while racing on a track at a California motorsports park.

According to authorities and family, Brooke Carlton was riding her dirt bike at Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park when she was struck by another juvenile motorcyclist shortly before 10 a.m.

Good Samaritans administered first aid to the unconscious Brooke as emergency responders arrived and took her to the local hospital, but she could not be saved, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

The other child involved in the collision was treated at the scene for minor injuries, according to the sheriff’s office.

The girl’s parents and family friends announced her death on a fundraising page to support the family.

“Yesterday the good Lord called sweet Brook Lily to heaven after a freak accident at a local motocross track,” wrote Jason and Angie Carlton. “Our whole family is still trying to understand why our Brookie, but we firmly believe that God needed her and called her home to be with Him.”

Brooke was an ambassador for motorsports clothing brand Go Fast Girls. According to her profile on the website, she said she loved “being on the track, competing with other girls and going fast.”

On the GoFundMe page to support her family, the 9-year-old was described as “an absolute treasure who can brighten anyone’s day with her warm smile and bright blonde curls.”

“Anyone who REALLY knew Brooke knew she was a real tomboy who knew what she wanted and there was no getting away from it,” wrote Ally Giles, a family friend, in the fundraiser description. “One look at her sparkling eyes and wide smile was enough to convince you that the sky was actually pink and purple and that you should ‘buy her an ice cream.'”

Brooke loved her parents, her grandparents, her dog Gunner and “most of all she loved her brother Landon,” Giles wrote.

The motorsport park where the fatal collision occurred offered its support to Brooke’s family in a statement honoring the young girl.

“We are truly saddened by the situation. This was as freaky an accident as the parents said,” Lake Elsinore Motorsports Park wrote in an Instagram post. “This is not a time to disparage the racetrack, but a time to think of this little girl and support her family. We are a community and will do our part to support the family as well.”

Officers from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station and the Department of Transportation are investigating the collision.