Something went wrong in a Bradenton car show, and a YouTube personality faces questions

A young man is recovering from severe burns after a mishap at the Cleetus and Cars event in Bradenton. The event organizer, YouTube personality Cleetus McFarland, is now facing questions about the safety of his shows.

McFarland, whose real name is Garrett Mitchell, held his latest event at Bradenton Motorsports Park on Nov. 21, complete with the usual burnout competitions and demolition drag racing. Some fans questioned him for holding a large event during the COVID-19 pandemic, while other people called for better safety measures after the driver was seriously injured.

Mitchell oversaw the event and then created a highlight video for more than 2.3 million subscribers on his YouTube channel, making no mention of the incident. The video, uploaded to his main channel on Nov. 22, begins with five minutes of merchandise promotion.

It then transitions to a statement from Mitchell, who shares a skeptical view of the COVID-19 pandemic and the dangers of holding an event. “It seems like a lot of this is blown out of proportion,” he speculates.

“Everyone who comes has to come at their own risk,” Mitchell says in the video. “They know they can wear a mask or they don’t have to around here. I’m not a guy who personally sits around and watches the news. I keep up a little bit. I obviously hear stuff and see stuff on social media. But things around here have been really good.”

“I spend a lot of time out of the house,” he continues. “We’re constantly meeting people, seeing people all over the place. It seems like everybody around here is very healthy. A lot of things I know about the virus come straight from my girlfriend’s friends, who are nurses. The things I hear is the hospitals around here are empty.”

According to data from the Florida Department of Health, more than 960 people have been hospitalized in Manatee County during the pandemic. The county also recorded 16,218 cases and 368 deaths as of Wednesday.

“At the end of the day, I know there is a problem and there are people who are greatly affected by it, but that doesn’t mean that all of us need to sit at home,” Mitchell says later in the video. “We have to live our lives. If you want to go outside, go to an event and have a great time, you can do that.”

The video goes on to show 20 minutes of event highlights, and while it made no mention of the injured driver, someone who attended the event uploaded a video to YouTube on Nov. 21. It was titled “Full accident (gone wrong) what really happened.”

The fan video shows a driver entertaining the crowd with a burnout. Mitchell joined the crowd in cheering as the buggy tires smoked and sparked, just before the radiator burst open.

Piping hot liquid doused the driver, who appeared to be wearing shorts, a cotton hoodie and a full-face helmet. According to a Manatee County EMS report, a 23-year-old man was treated for significant burns and airlifted to Tampa General Hospital.

“Everyone had a safe, great time,” Mitchell said in the highlight video, drawing further criticism. “That’s what you’re going to see in today’s video. If you have a problem with it, sorry, not sorry.”

In a more recent video, Mitchell said he was referring to spectators and not the drivers. He said the incident was omitted because he “had no idea what the facts were on the situation.”

Fans of the Cleetus McFarland channel soon caught wind of the incident. And while the accident was left out of the original video, the footage did show hundreds of people, few masks and no social distancing. The event quickly divided his fans.

Some fans backed the YouTube personality for upholding the values of freedom and personal choice. Others questioned the safety measures, or lack thereof, at the latest Cleetus and Cars event.

“How wildly irresponsible,” someone said on Mitchell’s Instagram page. “I’ve been a huge fan from the beginning but that’s just straight up stupid hosting an event like this with Covid.”

Other people shared their concerns in the Cleetus McFarland fan page on Reddit. Users questioned why a vehicle was allowed to perform when its radiator was placed behind the driver — a dangerous configuration.

Some people called for the use of fire suits, in-depth vehicle inspections and other safety measures going forward.

Mitchell responded in a video last Monday. The video was uploaded to a secondary Cleetus McFarland YouTube channel, which had fewer subscribers — about 367,000 — as of Wednesday.

“I know I’ve been taking a lot of heat on the internet since yesterday’s video, where we did the Cleetus and Cars event,” he says in the update. “Honestly, you guys can say whatever you want about me. I put myself in this position and I’m prepared to face the consequences.”

The five-minute video focused on the accident and not the pandemic concerns. Mitchell said a radiator hose disconnected during the burnout, covering the driver in a cloud of hot liquid.

“Typically, with the radiator being on the front of the cars, this wouldn’t have been an issue,” he says.

Mitchell emphasized that last week’s accident was the first serious injury after four years of Cleetus and Cars events. The driver, who he referred to as Parker, has been a crowd favorite at many of those events.

Extreme motor-sports are risky, Mitchell said, going on to acknowledge the need for more safety precautions.

“From here forward, there’s no doubt that we have to take our safety measures more serious,” Mitchell says in the video. “Everyone needs to be in a full fire suit, covered up head to toe. The more serious we take it, the more we can prevent incidents like this.”

The recent Cleetus and Cars event has become a divisive issue for Mitchell’s fans, but most found common ground in their desire to see the driver recover from his injuries. Mitchell used his recent video to promote an online fundraiser for the driver’s medical expenses.

That fundraiser, posted to GoFundMe.com, raised more than $37,000 as of Friday afternoon. The driver’s fiancee seems to operate the fundraiser, which included several updates on the driver’s condition.

“Parker is now out of surgery and said he is in the worst pain he has ever felt,” Tuesday’s update said. “They sadly won’t let Tracy, Parker’s mom, to go see him due to covid. This breaks all of our hearts completely. They ended up using skin from both of his thighs and also some from his right arm. The doctors will be really checking his right arm for 5 days to make sure the skin is accepting because they end up using a sheet graft on that arm.”

“Today Parker is still in a lot of pain and that is to be expected, it is better than yesterday and we can hope each day from here on it will continue to get better,” according to the update on Wednesday, which included a picture of the driver sitting upright and smiling.

This story was originally published November 26, 2020 at 7:33 AM.