PALMYRA, Va. —
A mud-bog event at a Fluvanna County farm turned fatal Saturday when a driver lost control of his vehicle and landed upside down in a pond full of swimmers, according to the Fluvanna County Sheriff’s Office.
The driver, Carol Dennis “Chuck” Engel Jr., 45, of Goochland County, was pronounced dead before he could be airlifted from the event at Haislip Farm, located between Scottsville and Palmyra. The cause of death was listed as drowning, his brother-in-law said, but Engel’s family believes he experienced heatstroke or some other medical problem before the crash.
“He’d already done his run, and you have to go up a hill and turn around,” Rob Chesson, Engel’s brother-in-law, said in a phone interview Sunday night. “People said his head was leaning down and over to the side … and he hit a log, and I guess his foot hit the gas pedal … and launched him into the pond.”
Three other people were transported to the University of Virginia Medical Center with minor injuries related to the crash, according to Lt. David R. Wells. A Fluvanna sheriff’s deputy was also transported to U.Va. for heat-related issues after performing CPR.
Engel, who owned Sabot Construction in Crozier, was experienced in mud-bog racing, having competed for 10 years in events along the East Coast, Chesson said.
“He loved it, and it was one of his favorite things to do,” Chesson said.
Fluvanna officials said there was no indication the vehicle malfunctioned or that alcohol was a factor.
“It’s basically a straight-line drag race through a big pit of mud,” Wells said, describing the event.
The property owners have been holding mud-bog events for the past few years with approval from the county, and Wells described the event as professional and organized.
“We’re not talking some kind of backyard-built thing,” Wells said. “It’s not a bunch of guys with old Ford pickup trucks and just a lap belt.”
Over the years, Engel had worked with many of the biggest homebuilders in the Richmond area, Chesson said.
“He was really upbeat, a jolly guy, always smiling,” Chesson said. “It’s a uniquely sad and terrible thing that happened.”