Woman dies from medical emergency after motorcycle race at Alabama track

Published 9:28 am Monday, October 16, 2023

A woman motorcycle racer died Sunday, a week after she experienced a medical emergency during a motorcycle race at an Alabama track.

Jefferson County Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said that Silke Maria Crombie, 56, of Mars Hill, North Carolina, died Sunday afternoon at UAB Hospital.

Initially, the coroner’s office reported that Crombie was injured in an on-track wreck at Barber Motorsport Park on October 7.

Motorcycle racing media and friends of Crombie said, however, that she was not involved in a wreck, but instead suffered a medical emergency, reportedly a brain bleed, during the race.

A person at the track said Crombie pulled over and avoided any collisions.

She was the second racer participating in the event who died. The day after her accident, a California man was killed in an on-track accident during the same event, a vintage motorcycle event.