An 18-year-old woman from Cambridgeshire has been killed in a freak go-karting accident involving a scarf that became caught in the engine of the vehicle.

Suzanne Cornwell from Hardwick was injured on Thursday (10/12/09) evening at Cambridgeshire Raceway.

The Times reports that the ambulance service was called to the racetrack at 9.40pm. Miss Cornwell was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, but died on Friday.

Track marshall Andy Kilvin, 24, had allowed Miss Cornwell and five of her friends to use the racetrack after hours, said the firm’s company secretary Phil Meakins – who added that the accident ‘should never have happened’.

‘All the other staff left at 8pm and I would have expected Andy to lock up at 9pm; but in this case, he manually turned off the CCTV for the whole site before letting his girlfriend and five friends onto the track.

‘I got home at 11pm and Andy phoned me to say there had been an accident, but he had called an ambulance and it wasn’t serious. I only heard the whole story when the police got in touch two hours later,' said Mr Meakins, who also confirmed that the racetrack had ‘very strict safety restrictions’.

‘All drivers have to wear race suits and helmets and they certainly wouldn’t have been allowed to drive wearing a scarf. You can’t even wear facial jewellery on the track,' Mr Meakins said.

‘I have seven members of staff here and Andy was the second most experienced so he would have known the safety rules categorically. There are no excuses whatsoever.’

The East of England Ambulance Service said that Miss Cornwell sustained ‘a severe injury to her neck’ – she was unconscious by the time the ambulance crew arrived at the scene of the accident.

Cambridgeshire Police said that a joint investigation into the accident with South Cambridgeshire District Council was ongoing.

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