Daredevil ‘Mad’ Mike Hughes reported dead in rocket crash near Barstow

Posted February 23, 2020

In blog, Crime News: Los Angeles Daily News

Daredevil ‘Mad’ Mike Hughes reported dead in rocket crash near Barstow

by Brian Rokos

A man died in a rocket crash in the San Bernardino County desert near Barstow on Saturday, Feb. 22, and TMZ is reporting that well-known daredevil “Mad” Mike Hughes, 64, perished in the accident.

TMZ said Hughes was aboard the rocket when it plummeted straight down after the launch. A video on TMZ’s website shows a parachute separating from the vessel upon launch, then the rocket falling from hundreds of feet nose-down.

Mad Mike Hughes just launched himself in a self-made steam-powered rocket and crash landed. Very likely did not survive. #MadMike #MadMikeHughes pic.twitter.com/svtviTEi8f

— Justin Chapman (@justindchapman) February 22, 2020

The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said that about 1:50 p.m., deputies were called to an event on private property off Highway 247 near Barstow, where a man was pronounced dead after the crash. Medics were already on the scene before the launch, the Sheriff’s Department. said. A sheriff’s spokeswoman was not able to immediately provide any other details or confirm the identity of the dead man.

The website Space.com said rocket-maker Hughes planned Saturday “to blast himself off-Earth as part of Homemade Astronauts, a new series on the Science Channel that follows self-financed, self-made teams on their quest to reach the sky.” The website said Hughes, with the help of partner Waldo Stakes, hoped to reach 5,000 feet in a steam-powered rocket.

This story is developing. Check back for more information as it becomes available.