Days Before Tragic Crash, Jessi Combs Wrote About Walking ‘Into the Line of Fire’

Days Before Tragic Crash, Jessi Combs Wrote About Walking ‘Into the Line of Fire’
Co-host Jessi Combs speaks at the 'Overhaulin' discussion panel during the Discovery Networks/Velocity portion of the 2012 Summer Television Critics Association tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, Calif. on Aug. 2, 2012. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Jack Phillips
8/28/2019
Updated:
8/28/2019

Former “MythBusters” host Jessi Combs, who died while trying to break the land-speed record in Oregon, made a motivational tweet being “a little crazy” days before the tragic accident.

“It may seem a little crazy to walk directly into the line of fire... those who are willing, are those who achieve great things,” she wrote on the social media website. It included a picture of her jet-car.

“People say I’m crazy. I say thank you,” she added.

Days after that, she posted another photo on Twitter, which would be her last.

“I just want to thank all of you for your support and loyalty. That’s all. Have a nice day,” she wrote on Twitter.

Following the crash, her TV colleagues offered their condolences.

“Mythbusters” star Adam Savage wrote on Twitter, “I’m so so sad, Jessi Combs has been killed in a crash. She was a brilliant & top-notch builder, engineer, driver, fabricator, and science communicator, & strove every day to encourage others by her prodigious example. She was also a colleague, and we are lesser for her absence.”

“Woke up to the news of my friend Jessi Combs’ tragic death,” said Richard Ray Rawlings of “Garage Rehab.” “She lost her life doing what she loved, attempting to beat her own land-speed record. She’s always been a good friend since the Overhaulin days and I can’t believe she’s gone. RIP Jessi, Fastest Woman on Four Wheels.”
The Twitter page for Harley Davidson wrote a message, saying, “Rest in peace, Jessi Combs. Your energy, passion, and love of life on 2 wheels left a mark on so many. You will not be forgotten.”

On Wednesday, her boyfriend, Terry Madden, issued a lengthy statement on Instagram.

“So I don’t know how to say any of this but it all needs said,” he wrote. “I have never loved or been loved by anyone as much as this amazing woman [Jessi Combs] 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.”
KTVZ reported that the Harney County Sheriff’s Office was called to the scene of the crash at around 4 p.m., saying the crash took place on a dry lake bed.
Combs was trying to hit 619 mph, Autoblog reported. It’s not clear how fast she was going when she crashed.

Her family also issued a statement following her passing.

“People that loved her and followed her became family, all bonded together by adventure and passion. Her fans adored her, and she lived to inspire them. Jessi’s most notable dream was to become the fastest woman on Earth, a dream she had been chasing since 2012. Combs was one of the rare dreamers with the bravery to turn those possibilities into reality, and she left this earth driving faster than any other woman in history,” her family said, according to the Autoblog report.

Jack Phillips is a breaking news reporter with 15 years experience who started as a local New York City reporter. Having joined The Epoch Times' news team in 2009, Jack was born and raised near Modesto in California's Central Valley. Follow him on X: https://twitter.com/jackphillips5
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