LOWVILLE — "We have a wreck!" announcer John W. Burr exclaimed during the first heat of the Lewis County Fair's demolition derby Saturday afternoon.
And a wreck it was. Members of the Lowville Fire Department spent several minutes using a crowbar to force open the door of Justin Cole Jr.'s vehicle. Activity on the dirt track halted as an ambulance made its way to the car, where Mr. Cole had been pushed into the back seat by the force of a collision.
"That was uncalled for," said Mr. Burr, who has announced the Lewis County demolition derby for 34 years.
Mr. Cole soon emerged from his car, rubbing his lower back but appearing otherwise unscathed. He was able to walk to the waiting ambulance and did not have to go to Lewis County General Hospital for treatment.
However, the Fire Department was no longer taking any chances. It used hoses to turn the dirt track into a true mud pit, thus slowing the cars and lessening the likelihood of further dangerous collisions.
With the track sufficiently wetted, the event continued more messily than before. The mud added a new element, with dirt flying up from the cars' tires and spraying spectators and derby officials alike. The cars themselves were quickly coated, obliterating bright neon paint jobs and names like "ADHD," "Bumper Ointment" and "the Crofoot Hill Crusher" in a sea of brown.
The 30 cars in all four heats were turned into mangled wrecks of metal on the stretch of mud as they rammed into guardrails and each other. The announcer's stage shook with the vibrations of revving engines as pieces of metal fell off cars and steam belched from radiators.
Drivers strove to win by knocking other cars out of bounds and breaking them down. The competitors were not allowed to hit the windshields and driver's-side doors of other vehicles, but they could not escape collisions altogether: "Sandbagging," or purposely avoiding crashes to prevent damage, was prohibited.
Mr. Burr, entertainment chairman for the fair, said the event had approximately 80 entrants this year. He recalls seeing more than 100 cars in years past.
"Some of the derbies are really having trouble because of the cost of scrap iron," he said. "We are very fortunate to have this many."
A raffle benefiting the Fire Department was offered to the several hundred fairgoers who attended the derby. The winner will receive a chance to drive a car provided by Zeigler Motor Sales of Boonville in the evening derby. The overall winner of the derby will represent Lewis County at the New York State Fair's demolition derby in Syracuse in August.
Melissa S. McGlashan, a Kenville, N.J., resident who owns a home on Tug Hill, was the only female driver in the afternoon heats. She said she entered this derby, her first ever, on a bet with a family member and described it as very nerve-wracking. Her car, which was selected as one of the best-appearing cars in the derby, featured several fake crows and a nest attached to its bright yellow hood and roof.
One driver seemed to want to drive in the state fair more than the average competitor: Mat-thew S. Zira entered four cars Saturday. The Gouverneur man, now 25, has been driving in derbies since he was 17. He does all the work on the cars himself and begins tinkering with them four to five months before the fair.
Mr. Zira, who drove two cars in the afternoon heats and two in the evening heats, has never won a demolition derby but is hoping to change that today at the Jefferson County Fair. He also plans to enter cars in the St. Lawrence, Clinton and Franklin county fair derbies.
"It all revolves around smashing cars," he said.
Saturday was the last day of the annual Lewis County Fair.
"It's really been big this year," said Harry P. O'Connor, fair president. "I'd have to say it has been a huge success." He attributed this success in part to the solid week of sunny weather.
Dr. O'Connor could not estimate crowd sizes because of the fair's free admission. However, he did say, "Our crowds every day so far have been the largest we've ever seen here."
