The actions of Easton Riedner, 12, led to saving of the life of racer Larry Richards. Easton, who delivered water to drivers waiting in line for tech, noticed the veteran driver was not acting right.
Larry had just finished third in the street stock feature at Beaver Dam Raceway in Wisconsin.
“Larry pulled up to the tech shed like nothing was out of the ordinary,” said Brandon Riedner, track tech inspector and Easton’s father. “He took his helmet off, but wasn’t standing with the car like most drivers do. He’s an older guy, so I thought he just wanted to sit and thought nothing more of it.”
Soon after, Easton walked to Larry’s car to deliver him a water bottle.
“I saw him hang up his helmet, so I walked over to give him some water,” Easton said. “I tapped on his shoulder. He gave out a big sigh. I kept tapping on his shoulder, but he didn’t respond.”
Easton alerted the next driver in line, Dustin Ward, about how Larry was acting.
“Dustin went over and checked on him,” said Easton. “Then, he started yelling and everyone sprung into action.”
Brandon ran over to see what was going on.
“I said to Brandon, ‘He’s dying,’” Dustin said. “Brandon got a headset and called for the ambulance. I started pushing on his chest with my left hand to do compressions while he was inside the car.”
Larry’s championship rival Jim Krahn, and his son, Jesse, ran up to assist.
“[Larry’s] eyes were wide-open, but he was unresponsive and limp,” said Dustin. “Jim jumped in the passenger window while Jesse yelled to help get him out of the car. With the cage set back and him being in a full-containment seat, it made it super difficult for two people to get him out.”
Dustin and the Krahns pulled Larry out the passenger-side window. The took him into the tech shed and laid him on the ground.
“I closed the doors of the tech shed,” Brandon said. “Our safety crew is [comprised of] first responders, and the Dodge County Sheriff also arrived. They got the AD [defibrillator] out of the sheriff’s cruiser and the paramedics got Larry stable and then into the ambulance.”
The ambulance rushed him to an urgent care facility, which then transferred him to Meriter Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.
As of Friday, Larry’s son, Kenny, said he’s doing okay, but still has “some short-term memory loss, and he still is hospitalized.”
Beaver Dam Raceway canceled the remaining portion of its program after the ambulance took Larry Richards.
“Usually, when a racetrack shuts a race down, it is not a good sign,” Kenny said. “It’s going to take a while for Larry to come back”
Kenny called Easton Riedner to thank him.
“If it wasn’t for Easton, who knows what would have happened,” said Kenny.
Dustin echoed those sentiments.
“What if Easton had just walked away?” Dustin said. “He is the true hero in this situation. Beaver Dam’s safety team did a hell of a job reviving Larry, and I tip my hat to them. What a miracle.”
Larry Richards holds a three-point lead in the street stocks. Beaver Dam Raceway has September 12 scheduled as its final points race of the year. Either way, Larry is alive, thanks to the quick actions of a seventh grader who also races Bandoleros, Easton Riedner.
“Larry’s son [Kenny] called me and said, ‘You saved my dad’s life,’” said Easton. “I felt pretty good about that.”
Mike Adaskaveg has written hundreds of stories since the website’s inception. This year marks his 54th year of covering auto racing. Adaskaveg got his start working for track photographer Lloyd Burnham at Connecticut’s Stafford Motor Speedway in 1970. Since then, he’s been a columnist, writer, and photographer, in racing and in mainstream media, for several outlets, including the Journal Inquirer, Boston Herald, Stock Car Racing, and Speedway Illustrated. Among Adaskaveg’s many awards are the 1992 Eastern Motorsport Press Association (EMPA) Ace Lane Photographer of the Year and the 2019 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) George Cunningham Writer of the Year.
