Driver Bobby East died earlier this week after he was stabbed to death at a gas station in California, according to multiple reports.
The 37-year-old was reportedly pumping his gas when he got into a war of words with another individual. The person, who was identified as Trent William Millsap, was originally said to be on the run after the stabbing.
Law enforcement told TMZ a SWAT team executed a search warrant at an Anaheim-area apartment where officers found him and he was shot and killed on the scene as they were trying to arrest him.
Police found East on the ground suffering from a “serious chest wound” upon arrival and transported him to a nearby trauma center, where he was pronounced dead.
Millsap also had an outstanding parole warrant and should be considered armed and dangerous, police said in a statement.
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“East was phenomenal in USAC National Sprint Cars as well, most notably on pavement tracks,” the USAC said in a Friday statement. “He tallied 15 wins in the series, with the first coming in 2003 at Ohio’s Mansfield Motorsports Speedway. He also prevailed at the Milwaukee Mile in 2005 in what remains as the last USAC Sprint Car race held on a one-mile track.”
“Bobby was an immediate success in his USAC career,” the auto club said in its press release. “His first career triumph with the USAC National Midgets in 2001 at Schererville, Indiana’s Illiana Motor Speedway made Bobby the youngest USAC national feature winner ever at the time, at the age of 16. His three winning performances in 2001 made him the winningest USAC National Midget Rookie in more than a quarter century. Ultimately, he was rewarded as the series’ Rookie of the Year.”
He is the son of USAC Hall of Fame car builder Bob East.
