Driver who killed people in fatal Tennessee accident is devastated

The man whose drag-racing car spun into a crowd and killed six people during a parade in Tennessee is devastated and hiding in an "undisclosed location".

Photo: Driver who killed people in fatal Tennessee accident is devastated

"He's not holding up real well," said Paige Jackson Critchley, who lives in Virginia. "He's a good person. I'm sure he's terribly devastated by the accident."

She married the Australian-born pro drag racer Troy Warren Critchley in 1998, but they divorced a few years later. She said she had spoken with him since the accident, but would not say if he was still in Tennessee.

Troy Critchley lost control of his drag-racing car Saturday while performing a "burnout exhibition" - spinning the car's back tires to send up clouds of smoke - at a Cars for Kids charity event.

Six spectators, ages 15 to 22, died, and at least 23 others were injured when his car careened into the crowd. There were no protective barriers on either side of the city street lined with hundreds of spectators.

State authorities are still investigating the cause of the crash, and no criminal charges have been filed.

District Attorney General Mike Dunavant said after the crash Critchley gave a routine blood sample, which is being tested for drugs and alcohol, but the results have not yet been made available.

Repeated calls to a spokesman for Critchley's racing team were not returned, and no one answered the door Tuesday at his home in Texas. Critchley's father, Warren Critchley, who lives in Australia, said he had not spoken to his son since the incident.