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A fatal crash on Wednesday, August 9, 2023, killed the entire Molander family and their dog, along with James Shade, the driver of a tractor-trailer. As per FOX, The Molander family was in their RV, which was towing a trailer, while the tractor-trailer was towing double trailers.
The incident took place while the family was on their way to Tennessee for a race. The primary cause behind the fatal crash was the blowing out of the front tire of the Molanders' RV.
Dane Molander, one of the victims in the I-81 crash, was a rising face in motorsports
At around 8:50 pm local time, on Wednesday, the front tire of the Molanders' RV blew out. This caused it to divert from its route and go on to a grassy area, where it slammed into a tractor-trailer, killing driver James Shade and the family in the RV, comprising of Donald, Kimberly, Miranda, and Dane. The family's dog also lost its life in the accident.
The crash took place on I-81, which was shut down for about 10 hours following the incident.
In the aftermath of the event, the director of events for a professional motocross race series, identified as Tim Cotter, spoke about Dane Molander, deeming him the "next up-and-comer" in motocross racing.
The family reportedly resided in the Lower Swatara Township, and were heading to Loretta Lynn Ranch in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, to compete in the finals of the 10-race ATV MX National Championship Series. Cotter further revealed that Miranda, Dane's older sister was a member of the MX Sports’ events staff.
Cotter further elaborated on Dane's prowess, saying:
"When you step from amateur into pro it’s a huge step. So his results probably didn’t set the world on fire yet, but it is a process."
He continued:
"If you were the amateur rider of the year and you won the Pro-Am Class, you are the next guy. You’re the Heisman Trophy winner of ATV motocross. And so, there was a lot of hope for him... He was an elite racer."
Cotter added that the racer community is a close-knit group, with the members often partaking in several acitivties together, including going to the church, as well as cooking out and camping in the weekends. Speaking about the impact of the family's death, he added:
"It will be a very, very difficult week, for sure, for all of our racing family members."
The deadly crash that took place on Wednesday, was the second one this week, on I-81. A fatal bus crash in the same place on Sunday killed several people, with many sustaining severe injuries as well.
