David Sanchez kicks up some dirt while running in the Baja Vida Class 11 Showdown Presented by EMPI at King of Hammers in Johnson Valley, Calif., Saturday, Jan. 27, 2024.
San Diego, California – Authorities in Baja California are searching for two Americans involved in a fatal off-road vehicle crash during a practice run for the upcoming Baja 500 race—an event that has long attracted adrenaline-seeking drivers from both sides of the border, and which now finds itself at the center of an international investigation.
According to local news outlets in Ensenada, the collision occurred Monday in the town of Eréndira, about 50 miles south of the U.S. border. A “trophy truck”—a high-powered, million-dollar off-road racing vehicle—slammed into a local pickup truck. The pickup’s driver, a 38-year-old resident of the area, was transported by family to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses say that within moments of the crash, the two Americans exited their vehicle and boarded a waiting helicopter, which then lifted off from the scene. Their current whereabouts remain unknown.
The men have been identified by Border Report as Rolf Helland, 65, of Morris, Illinois, and Rick D. Johnson, 56, of Barstow, California. The vehicle they were driving—a No. 37L truck belonging to Norseman Racing—is registered in the SCORE Trophy Truck Legend category. Norseman Racing is based in Illinois and had posted just days earlier about their participation in the Baja 500 on Instagram, noting they were “starting 11th overall.”
Baja California’s state prosecutor’s office has stated that the Americans were responsible for the crash, though further details about the sequence of events have not been made public. Images of the scene show the wreckage of the Norseman truck on the side of a narrow road—an unsettling sight given the vehicle’s intended purpose for off-road terrain, not community roadways.
SCORE International, the U.S.-based organization that oversees the Baja 500, has declined to comment.
While off-road racing in Baja is a celebrated tradition that draws thousands of visitors and millions in economic activity, it has long existed in uneasy tension with local communities. During formal races, designated courses separate spectators and residents from racers. But during pre-runs, racers are expected to follow ordinary traffic laws—a rule that is often disregarded, according to those familiar with the sport.
The collision has revived scrutiny over how racing teams operate during practice and what protections exist for locals who must navigate public roads transformed into makeshift race tracks.
For now, one family in Baja is grieving, a community is rattled, and the men believed responsible have vanished across the sky.
