49-year-old driver Pierre Levegh struck a protective dirt berm at 200 km/h, disintegrating and igniting his car, throwing him onto the track where he was instantly killed and sending large pieces of flaming debris including the engine block and hood cartwheeling over the berm and into the packed grandstand. The momentum of the heaviest components of the car – the engine, radiator and front suspension – hurtled straight on into the crowd for almost 100 metres, crushing all in their path. The bonnet lid scythed through the air, decapitating tightly jammed spectators like a guillotine.