NASCAR hero Bobby East, 37, was stabbed to death in California Wednesday by a hulking, heavily tattooed homeless man after a verbal altercation at a gas station.
NASCAR star Bobby East killed in stabbing at California gas station https://t.co/BycJwyitk0 pic.twitter.com/4k8lqLqjGJ
— New York Post (@nypost) July 16, 2022
FAST FACTS
- East was stabbed in the chest while filling up at a 76 gas station in Westminster, Calif.
- He raced in 42 NASCAR competitions between 2005 and 2008
- The suspect, Trent William Millsap, considered by cops to be armed and dangerous, was shot to death by a SWAT team as they attempted to apprehend him
According to a Westminster Police Dept. (WPD) press release, the responding officers found East lying on the ground with a serious stab wound to the chest. They applied lifesaving measures until paramedics arrived. East passed away shortly thereafter at a nearby trauma center.
The United States Auto Club (USAC) released a statement on Friday:
Bobby East, one of the most prolific drivers of his era and a three-time USAC National Champion driver in USAC Silver Crown and Midgets, passed away on the night of July 13, 2022, in southern California. Born in Torrance, California but making his home throughout his racing career in Brownsburg, Indiana, East captured 56 career USAC-sanctioned feature victories, 48 of them in national divisions.
Police released photos of Millsap, who is was hard to miss at six-feet-five-inches and covered in facial tattoos. He was a known transient and was wanted on a parole violation. Cops tracked him to an apartment complex in Anaheim. They arrived with a search warrant, but, according to TMZ, Millsap was killed by SWAT officers in the process.
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East was a three-time USAC champ and won back-to-back Silver Crown Championships in 2012 and 2013.