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Jessi Combs – Mythbusters cast pay tribute to ‘fastest woman on Earth’ after her horror crash death while trying to break 512mph land-speed record
THE devastated cast of Mythbusters have paid tribute to former star Jessi Combs after she died in a horror crash trying to break the 512mph land speed record.
Jessi, known to fans as the ‘fastest woman on four wheels’, died in a high-speed smash on a dry bed lake in Alvord Desert in Oregon on Tuesday.
The 39 year old was trying to break the women’s land speed record of 512 mph (823 kph) set in 1976 by Kitty O’Neil when she was killed.
Now those that worked with Jessi on the hit Discovery Channel show have told of their loss and their love for the speed demon.
“So sad to hear about Jessi. She was a badass. Always pushing limits. Sending smiles into the universe for her,” tweeted Mythbusters star Kari Byron, who Jessi filled in for while she was on maternity leave.
Show host Adam Savage also shared his grief on Twitter, writing: “I’m so so sad, Jessi Combs has been killed in a crash.
“She was a brilliant & too-notch builder, engineer, driver, fabricator, and science communicator, & strove everyday to encourage others by her prodigious example. She was also a colleague, and we are lesser for her absence.”
“My heart goes out to her family,” he added in another tweet.
“So sorry to hear about Jessi,” wrote former Mythbuster star Grant Imahara on Twitter. “She was a talented builder and host, and above all, a go-getter.”
Tory Belleci shared two photos with Combs from her time on the show – including a black-and-white shot of the pair sharing a high-five.
“Absolutely gutted to hear the news of @thejessicombs You’re a legend Jessi and I will miss you my friend,” he said in the caption.
In one of her last social media posts, Jessi even hinted she was trying to smash the record by more than 100mph.
“It may seem a little crazy to walk directly into the line of fire,” she captioned a shot of her walking towards her jet-engine propelled car.
“Those who are willing, are those who achieve great things. People say I’m crazy. I say thank you.”
She then included a number of hashtags including “fastest woman on earth”, “gottabreak512”, “aimingfor619” and “currentlyat483”.
The TV personality had set her own land-speed record in a four-wheeled vehicle when she hit 398 mph in 2013.
She went on to shatter that mark, topping 483 mph in subsequent follow-up runs, though those efforts were not considered official because of mechanical issues, Autoblog reported.
In the weeks before her death, Jessi had seemed excited about the prospect of setting a new record.
“Sometimes I just gotta push the noise out, turn my head, and get to work,” she captioned one Instagram image.
“Big things happening…hopefully super-fast things.”
In a statement, Jessi’s family said her “most notable dream was being the fastest woman on Earth.”
The former Mythbusters host had competed for the North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger team, which she joined in 2013.
Cops are now probing what caused her 56ft-long, 52,000-horsepower “jet car” – dubbed the North American Eagle Supersonic Speed Challenger – to crash.
The New York Post reported that investigators are trying to recover laptops from the vehicle — so they could find out what went wrong.
“They’re waiting for the team to recover the [engine and systems] information stored on the inboard computers,” said Lt. Brian Needham of the Harney County Sheriff’s Office.
He said “there was a fire involved” but was unable to say whether Combs’ car hit something to cause the blaze.
‘DID EVERYTHING WE COULD TO SAVE HER’
Jessi’s partner Terry Madden confirmed her death on Wednesday morning in a heartbreaking Instagram post.
He wrote: “Unfortunately we lost her yesterday in a horrific accident, I was the first one there and trust me we did everything humanly possible to save her!!
“I have never loved or been loved by anyone as much as this amazing woman she was truly my unicorn and I enjoyed every single minute that I had with her.
“She was the most amazing spirit that I have ever or will ever know.
“I’m not okay but she is right here keeping me going. I made her a promise that if this didn’t go well that I would make sure and do good with it.”
South Dakota-born Jessi had always dreamed of being a racing car driver.
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After graduating from WyoTech in Wyoming with a degree in Custom Automotive Fabrication, she explored careers in television.
She hosted automotive shows, including Xtreme 4×4, Overhaulin’, Truck U, and Two Guys Garage.
Combs had also appeared as a host and builder on Discovery Channel’s Mythbusters.