Jessi Combs Death: Racer And ‘Mythbusters’ Host Dies Attempting Land-Speed Record

Jessi Combs' attempt to break her own land-speed ended in tragedy on Tuesday when her 52,000-horsepower jet-car crashed, taking the life of the 39-year-old racer and former “Mythbusters” host.

Combs was attempting to break her own record of 398 miles-per-hour in a four-wheeled vehicle driven by a woman from 2013, which she achieved in the same North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger that crashed in her most recent and final attempt. Due to her past achievements, she was known as the “fastest woman on four wheels.”

Combs was attempting the run in the Alvord Desert located in southeast Oregon near Steen Mountain.

According to KTVZ in Bend, Oregon, the Harney County Sheriff’s Department had received a 911 call about a crash in the desert a little after 4 p.m.

Combs' name was initially withheld from reports of the crash. A member of her team, Terry Madden, took to Instagram to confirm that tragic news.

“She was the most amazing spirit that I have ever or will ever know,” Madden said in the post. “Unfortunately we lost her yesterday in a horrific accident, I was the first one there and trust me we did everything humanly possible to save her!!”

Combs’ family has also since issued a statement on her untimely passing.

“It is with extreme grief, and in celebration of her life that her family and close friends share that race car driver, and TV personality Jessi Combs, passed away in a fatal crash,” the statement reads. “Where she was pursuing a land speed record in the North American Eagle on August, 27th 2019 on a dry lake bed in Oregon. The details of the crash have not been released at this time.”

Alvord Desert has been a popular destination for speed record attempts in the past. In 1976, Kitty O’Neil set the women’s land-speed record in a three-wheeled vehicle there, reaching 512.7 mph. Combs had previously attempted to break her record there in 2016, reaching 440 mph in a four-wheeled vehicle before a technical error forced an end to the attempt.