Sherman Dwayne "Butch" Laswell (October 12, 1958 – March 10, 1996) was an American

stunt performer A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

and professional motorcycle stunt rider. Laswell died after sustaining injuries during a live stunt in front of a crowd of spectators, while attempting to carry out a dangerous motorcycle jump in

Mesquite, Nevada Mesquite is a city located in the northeast corner of Clark County, Nevada, Clark County, Nevada, United States adjacent to the Arizona state line and northeast of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 in Nevada, Interstate 15. As of the 2020 United State ...

. The accident was captured on camera.

Career

Laswell was a native of

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, but grew up in

Overton, Nevada Overton is a community that is part of the unincorporated town of Moapa Valley in Clark County, Nevada. Overton is on the north end of Lake Mead. It is home to Perkins Field airport and Echo Bay Airport. History Overton was originally s ...

. From a young age he became a fan of

Evel Knievel Robert Craig Knievel (October 17, 1938November 30, 2007), known professionally as Evel Knievel (), was an American stunt performer and entertainer. Throughout his career, he attempted List of Evel Knievel career jumps, more than 75 ramp-to-ra ...

, which is what first led him to pursue motorcycle stunt riding. At age 12 he began building ramps and jumping over his parents car on his bicycle. Laswell got his first motorcycle at age 15 and pursued desert motorcycle racing. By age 17 he was one of Nevada's top desert bike racers and achieved a professional status two years later. Laswell's true passion, however, was in motorcycle jumping. He began doing small performances and jumped over school buses and big rigs. One of Laswell's earliest achievements was when he beat the World's Long Distance Jump Record of , which he achieved in 1981 when he jumped on a 440 Maico. He then pursued his motorcycle career full-time and took motorcycle stunts and ramp-to-ramp jumping to the next level. In the 1980s Laswell filmed a TV commercial for the US Coast Guard and appeared in the

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

show, ''

That's Incredible! ''That's Incredible!'' is an American reality television show that aired on the ABC television network from 1980 to 1984. In the tradition of '' You Asked for It'', '' Ripley's Believe It or Not!'' and '' Real People'', the show featured people ...

'', in which he filmed a world record wheelie demo. He then spent several years working for the

Globe of death The Globe of Death is a circus and carnival stunt where stunt riders ride motorcycles inside a mesh sphere ball. It is similar to the wall of death, but in this act riders can loop vertically as well as horizontally. There have been three performa ...

circus, where he performed a variety of motorcycle stunts never before attempted. In January 1992, at the Vacation Village hotel, Laswell established the world's highest motorcycle ramp-to-ramp aerial jump. He set the record at .

Death

On Sunday, March 10, 1996, outside the

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Mesquite, Nevada Mesquite is a city located in the northeast corner of Clark County, Nevada, Clark County, Nevada, United States adjacent to the Arizona state line and northeast of Las Vegas on Interstate 15 in Nevada, Interstate 15. As of the 2020 United State ...

, Laswell attempted to jump over a pedestrian bridge by driving up a steep ramp on a Honda CR500 motorcycle. As he made the jump and became airborne, he was blown off course in mid-air. Crosswinds and excessive speed pushed Laswell to the left of the landing ramp. Laswell then flatlanded from high and crashed to the concrete below. According to witnesses Laswell tried to steer his bike away from the crowd. Laswell had been trying to break his personal best of high and set a

world record A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organizatio ...

. Laswell's trachea was crushed and his skull and chest were cracked, among many other internal injuries. Footage of the accident was also captured on camera by movie crews who were filming the event live. Paramedics took Laswell back toward

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

in an ambulance, meeting a

Flight for Life Flight for Life is a prehospital care service with many bases of operation across the United States. Flight for Life is primarily known for its emergency medical helicopter transport, but also operates a fleet of land vehicles and fixed-wing airc ...

helicopter next to the highway for a transfer. Laswell died in the helicopter during the transfer and was pronounced dead at 4:39 p.m.

Aftermath

Some friends and associates said Laswell was fearful of making the jump because of gusting winds. Others said he was determined to carry out the jump to avoid disappointing a crowd of thousands that had gathered to watch him, as well as movie crews who were filming the scene. Laswell's closest friends blamed the wind for the failed jump. Laswell's manager, Douglas MacValley, contends the disaster resulted from a mechanical problem and a strategic error. Lt. Governor

Lonnie Hammargren Lonnie Lee Hammargren (December 25, 1937 – June 13, 2023) was an American politician and neurosurgeon who served as the 31st Lieutenant Governor of Nevada, lieutenant governor of Nevada from 1995 to 1999. Prior to being lieutenant governor, Ha ...

, a noted brain surgeon and friend of Laswell, said he did not feel the paramedics responding to the crash provided adequate support to keep Laswell alive. Hammargren was in the crowd and was reportedly pushed away from Laswell's body by emergency personnel after the crash. Hammargren rode with Laswell in the

helicopter, where he succumbed to his injuries. Laswell was then flown to University Medical Center. Hammargren has stated publicly that a

tracheotomy Tracheotomy (, ), or tracheostomy, is a surgical airway management procedure which consists of making an incision on the front of the neck to open a direct airway to the trachea. The resulting stoma (hole) can serve independently as an airway ...

was necessary to keep Laswell alive, but was not performed by Mesquite paramedics. Footage of the fatal stunt was caught on video camera by movie crews who were filming the event live. The footage has been shown on television documentaries as well as the 1998

shockumentary Mondo film is a subgenre of exploitative documentary films. Many mondo films are made in a way to resemble a pseudo-documentary and usually depicting sensational topics, scenes, or situations. Common traits of ''mondo films'' include portrayal ...

film, ''

Banned from Television Joseph R. Francis (born April 1, 1973) is an American soft core porn film producer and the founder and creator of the Girls Gone Wild (franchise), ''Girls Gone Wild'' entertainment brand. Francis worked as a production assistant on the Broadcas ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Laswell, Butch 1958 births 1996 deaths Accidental deaths in Nevada American motorcycle racers American stunt performers Filmed deaths in motorsport Filmed deaths in the United States Motorcycle road incident deaths Motorcycle stunt performers People from Las Vegas Road incident deaths in Nevada Sports deaths in Nevada Sportspeople from Nevada

Career

Death

Aftermath

See also

References