Inquiry into US drag car deaths

The car reportedly spun wildly before crashing into the crowd

US police are continuing to investigate why a drag-racing car ploughed into watching crowds, killing six people.

Officials said 18 others were still in hospital two days after the crash at a charity event in Selmer, 130km (80 miles) east of Memphis, Tennessee.

Questions have been asked about why there was no barrier to prevent the car spinning into the crowd.

The driver suffered minor injuries. A team statement said he had done all he could to keep the car on the road.

Troy Critchley, a professional drag car racer from Australia, was said by team members to be distraught about the incident.

We'll look at everything, including the driver and the actual car itself, and everything surrounding the venue Mike Browning Tennessee Highway Patrol

All six people killed were in their teens or early 20s, officials said, with the youngest aged 15. The dead included two sisters.

On Sunday one official mistakenly reported seven fatalities.

Mike Browning, a spokesman for the Tennessee Highway Patrol, said it would take time to establish the cause of Saturday's crash.

"We'll look at everything, including the driver and the actual car itself, and everything surrounding the venue," he said.

District Attorney General Mike Dunavant said on Monday he had not decided whether to bring criminal charges but that it remained a possibility, the Associated Press news agency reports.

Amateur video of the crash showed the car revving its engine and spinning its tyres to create clouds of smoke before speeding down a stretch of road lined with spectators.

A few hundred yards down the course it skidded off the road and into the crowd.

'Shocked and saddened'

The statement on Mr Critchley's website said that before he began the "exhibition burnout" - spinning the tyres to make them heat up and smoke - two local police cars had driven down the roadway and instructed the crowd to move back.

"Mr Critchley was signalled to start and he began to perform the burnout. After a straight start, the car skidded off the road," the statement said.

"Mr Critchley did everything humanly possible to keep the car on the road, but unfortunately, there was nothing he could do."

The AMS Pro Modified Series, which sanctions drag races, had issued a statement on Sunday saying Mr Critchley was a veteran of more than 20 years of drag racing.

His team was "in shock and deeply saddened", the organisation said, adding that the team's prayers were with the victims and their families.

The annual festival, which was expected to be attended by up to 60,000 people over the weekend, was shut down following the accident.

The Cars for Kids charity raises money for children with disabilities through a series of national car races and pageants.