Agencies - Abu Dhabi
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Race car driver Jesse Coombs has died in a high-speed crash while trying to set a new speed record, the family said on Monday.
Coombs, 39, was trying to win the title of fastest woman on earth when she was killed on Tuesday in the Alford Desert, a dry bottom of a lake in southeastern Oregon, the family said in a statement.
Details of the incident were not disclosed.
"Jesse's biggest dream was to become the fastest woman on earth, a dream she has sought to achieve since 2012 ... she was one of the rare dreamers who had the courage to turn those possibilities into reality," she said. History".
Coombs began her career as a designer for fast cars and worked as a television presenter for a number of car programs, including All Girls Garage.
Her close friend and teammate Terry Madden called her an "amazing spirit."
"Unfortunately, we lost it yesterday in a terrible incident. I was the first to arrive there and believe me, we did everything human beings could do to save it!" He added on his Instagram website.
Coombs recorded her attempt to break the speed record for driving on social media. Her goal was to surpass the 1976 record of 512 miles (about 820 km) per hour set by American Kitty O'Neill, who died in November.
"It may seem a bit crazy to go straight to the line of fire," Coombs wrote this week on her Instagram page. "People with the will are doing great things. People say I'm crazy. I say thank you."