Pro Rally racing legend Ken Block died from injuries sustained in a snowmobile accident in Utah on Monday.
According to the Wasatch County Sheriff’s Office, calls about the accident came through their emergency lines at 2 P.M. local time.
“The driver, Kenneth Block, [a] 55-year-old male out of Park City, Utah, was riding a snowmobile on a steep slope when the snowmobile upended, landing on top of him. He was pronounced deceased at the scene from injuries sustained in the accident,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
“Mr. Block was riding with a group but was alone when the accident occurred,” the statement claimed.
Ken Block from ‘The Gymkhana Files’ attends The IMDb Studio and The IMDb Show on Location at The Sundance Film Festival on January 20, 2018, in Park City, Utah. (Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for IMDb)
Block was a pioneer in the industry of athletic wear for skateboarding and snowboarding athletes in particular. In 1994, he co-founded DC Shoes, a popular brand that was eventually sold to Quiksilver in 2004 for $87 million.
Ken Block celebrates his podium finish after Sunday’s Red Bull Global Rallycross race at Daytona International Speedway, June 21, 2015, in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Brian Cleary/Getty Images)
“Block has 1.92 million followers on YouTube and his Gymkhana videos — car-driving stunt videos — regularly have 50 million views,” ABC News reported. “He was also regularly a competitor at ESPN’s X Games when they sporadically included rally racing.”
Block’s company, Hoonigan, released a statement on his passing.
“Ken was a visionary, a pioneer and an icon. And most importantly, a father and husband. He will be incredibly missed.”