Kelly Marie Turco Wants you to Remember a Few Things.
by Jo Ann Hlavac 05/11/04
I never met Kelly Marie Turco. I don’t know a lot about her. I don’t know if she was a long time fan or a new fan. I don’t know who her favorite driver was nor if she even had one. I don’t know if the 2002 Pontiac 400 was her first race or her 40th race. Don’t know if she was at RIR with her family, a group of friends or just her significant other that weekend. I don’t know where she called home. I don’t know what she did for a living or if she was even finished with school. Don’t know if she was married, engaged or still looking. I do know that on May 5, 2002, at the age of 20, Kelly Marie Turco lost her life at Richmond International Raceway. She died from Carbon Monoxide poisoning in a RV.
What I do know about Kelly may not be a lot but it speaks volumes. She was a young, pretty, 20 year old girl who had her whole life a head of her. I know she graduated from high school because the post card left on our windshield has a senior portrait on it. I know she was fun loving or she never would have been at a race track camping. I know she was one of us, a race fan. I know that there are lot of friends and family of Kelly’s that still miss her today. They erected a memorial to Kelly outside the track. They also went around to all the campgrounds surrounding the speedway and put a post card on every windshield they found while race fans still slept on Saturday morning before the 2003 spring race at RIR. These postcards are the simple 2 sided kind. On one side we have the picture of Kelly with the words:
Kelly Marie Turco died at NASCAR’s Pontiac 400
from Carbon Monoxide in an RV.
On the other side is the following that I would like to share:
KELLY WOULD LIKE YOU TO REMEMBER:
If you SLEEP in your vehicle
With the motor or generator running, even if the windows are cracked
You may DIE in your vehicle
Front carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning.
If you get flu like SYMPTOMS
While in a vehicle, such as headache, fatigue, difficulty breathing, blurred vision, dizziness, nausea or vomiting
Get to FRESH AIR right away
Only a CO DETECTOR
Can warn you. Every RV should have one that works.
CO is called the SILENT KILLER
But it’s also invisible, odorless and tasteless.
NEVER ignore a CO alarm or CO symptoms
Someone’s life will depend on it.
I have kept that post card for a year now. I wasn’t sure why at first. I just kept it by my computer and looked at it from time to time. I would feel very sorry for the friends and family that this young girl left behind and say a prayer for them. They still must be grieving deeply to spend the money, time and effort to get the word out about this deadly killer to other race fans. I would think about Kelly Marie Turco's family and friends putting their grief aside, going to the place of her death just to inform strangers about Kelly's death and the reason for it. I am sure she is very proud of them.
Recently I realized the reason I kept it is because Kelly Marie Turco would want all of us to remember what her family and friends took the time to remind us. Our website, Laidback Racing, is all about the most important part of motor sports…the race fan. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is something that concerns all race fans and we all need to be educated in the symptoms, the remedy and what could happen if we ignore them. Every year we read about fans that die of carbon monoxide poisoning while camping at the track. They die in their RV’s and they die in their tents just trying to keep warm. NEVER use anything to heat your RV or tent unless it is a heater. DO NOT try to heat your tent with your lantern or stove. DO NOT sleep in your car with the engine running and the heater going full blast. If you see a neighbor at the track doing this, offer them a few of your blankets to keep warm and tell them this story.
If my writing this article helps educated one race fan to the dangers of this silent killer than I have the answer as to why I kept this postcard by my computer. If one person is saved by the kindness of the strangers that placed the post cards for the race fans to read then Kelly Marie Turco did not die in vain.
For those of you going to Richmond this weekend, take the time to walk over to
your neighbor to say hello, have a cold one & share a laugh or two.
It is truly one of the best parts of the weekend. Tell'em Laidback Racing sent you.
As always, we hope to tailgate with ya’ll at the track soon.
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