Sports Deaths

A motorcycle rider was killed during a qualifying race, flying over the handlebars and crashing while his parents watched from the stands at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego. Jason Ciarletta, 19, died Saturday night at the AMA Supercross. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. There will be an autopsy today, the medical examiner's office said. Ciarletta landed headfirst in the dirt and did not move as paramedics worked on him for more than 15 minutes.

He was the picture of health, "except for this one problem." For Sergei Grinkov, 28, the one problem was a heart that exploded without warning while he practiced for an ice show with his wife and partner, Ekaterina Gordeeva. An autopsy showed the two-time Olympic figure skating champion died of a massive heart attack caused by a blocked artery and high blood pressure. He apparently had another heart attack within 24 hours before he collapsed on Monday, said Dr.

An affable, outgoing Palos Verdes Peninsula High School sophomore accidentally struck by a flying discus during warmups for a track meet died Wednesday from the brain injury, hospital officials said. Craig Kelford III, 16, was pronounced dead at Torrance Memorial Medical Center at 1:10 p.m. after being on life support for nearly 20 hours after the incident at the Peninsula High football field.

The passing of Sam Hanks last week was more than the death of a great race driver. He was perhaps the last link to the golden era of midget auto racing in Southern California, a time before air conditioning or TV when watching midget racers at Gilmore Stadium was what many people did on warm summer nights.

Mike Sharperson, a former All-Star infielder who was part of the Dodgers' 1988 World Series championship team, was killed early Sunday morning in a one-car crash in Las Vegas. Sharperson, a minor league player in the San Diego Padre organization, was scheduled to leave Sunday on a flight to Montreal to join the Padres. General Manager Kevin Towers said he probably was going to activate Sharperson and place third baseman Ken Caminiti on the disabled list.

Pit row accidents, even fatalities, are not new to motor racing, but the recent death of a crewman during a NASCAR race in Atlanta has refocused attention on one of racing's most perplexing problems--how to reduce high-speed congestion in the pits. The crux of the problem is this: Every second spent pitting--which includes slowing down, getting fuel and tires, and getting back to racing speed--can be worth 100 yards on a superspeedway.

John Baker, a redheaded journeyman stock car driver from Tucson who was killed Saturday night at Irwindale Speedway in a NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series race, was a veteran of six years with the West Coast series. Baker, 49, apparently lost control of his Chevrolet Monte Carlo on Lap 36 of the 150-lap K&N Filter-sponsored race while battling for 10th place with Greg Voigt of Santa Barbara, who had the inside line coming off the Turn 2.

A World Wrestling Federation wrestler was fatally injured Sunday when he fell 50 feet into the ring as he was lowered from the ceiling of the arena--stunning the sold-out crowd that initially thought the accident was a stunt. Owen Hart, 33, hit his head on a turnbuckle. Hart, who wrestles under the nickname "Blue Blazer," was given cardiopulmonary resuscitation in the ring and then taken to a hospital. "We thought it was a doll at first," said Robert McCome, 15.

A 39-year-old Indiana man was struck and killed by lightning Thursday during the first round of the PGA Championship, the second lightning fatality involving a spectator at one of golf's major tournaments this summer. Thomas Weaver of Fishers, Ind., a suburb about 10 miles east of the Crooked Stick Golf Club, was hit on the left shoulder at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday, a few feet from his car parked in a lot about a mile from the golf course, according to several witnesses.

Initial autopsy results failed to pinpoint the cause of death of a 14-year-old Anaheim cheerleader who collapsed during team practice, authorities said Thursday. Shauna Stuewe, a freshman at Esperanza High School and a gymnast, was being tossed into the air by teammates in what was called a routine move shortly before she passed out Wednesday afternoon. "Everything happened so quickly," said school spokeswoman Rosemary Gladden. "It was a normal cheerleading practice.