Truth to its street racing concept, accidents and crashes are as regular in “Street Outlaws” as people assume. Whether these result from the failure of the many security measures taken by the show’s producers, or are just a matter of bad luck, the truth is that many show’s drivers have barely made it out alive from some situations.
Such is the case of JJ Da Boss and his wife Tricia, who in 2022 were involved in one of the most shocking and destructive crashes seen in “Street Outlaws” history.
So are they alright today? What actually caused the accident, and how are they dealing with its consequences? Take a seat and stay with us to know all!
What Happened To Them?
Ever since we saw them racing in “Street Outlaws: Memphis”, JJ Da Boss and Tricia have done well in becoming known to the audience as a power couple behind the wheels.
However, sometimes skills and talent aren’t enough for things to go well on the road. Certainly luck wasn’t on the side of JJ and Tricia in January 2022, when they had a terrible crash, as they raced against each other while filming “America’s List” second season’s premiere episode in Texas.
https://www.facebook.com/MemphisStreetRacerJJdaBoss/posts/2654275961269625
As it happened, a failure apparently related to the oil line of JJ’s Hummingbird coming loose, caused his Chevy Nova to engulf itself in flames. Just a second later, JJ lost control of his car, crashing against Tricia’s ZipTie and pushed it to the side of the road, where it also caught fire and severely impacted a staff vehicle parked nearby.
Although both Tricia and her husband fortunately came out alive, the accident’s terrifying video featured in “America’s List” showed an evidently affected Tricia as she was helped out of the car by JJ, and taken to the hospital right away.
Their Health Condition
The product of his and Tricia’s accident was that JJ Da Boss only had to recover from a couple of minor burns on his face and arms to be back in the game, and continue in the “America’s List” season, unlike his wife Tricia who got the worst of it.
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Tricia underwent an emergency surgery, during which two screws were inserted on all sides of her hips, along with some other procedures to repair the damage caused by her seatbelt. Apparently, she also suffered some back injuries, though what exactly is unknown, given that later in the show JJ only described it as a ‘vertebrae or something in her back’. As seen in an episode of “America’s List”, Tricia was released from the hospital a couple of weeks later and was warmly welcomed by her family in Memphis. However, she was in a wheelchair for the following months, also sporting a couple of pulled muscles and various minor burns.
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Needless to say, she lost the rest of the season, and it’s still unknown whether she’ll return to racing at all.
Did They Suffer Any Other Accidents Before?
While her accident in “America’s List” was Tricia’s most terrible one so far, it wasn’t the first time for JJ Da Boss to suffer such a serious crash. Back in 2017, tiredness made him fall asleep while driving his Sierra pickup on an Arkansas’ highway at night, at 55 mph. Unsurprisingly, the incident ended up in disaster, when the car struck a piece of concrete, and overturned the 1949 Chevrolet Ole Heavy pickup and 1966 Chevy Nova called Heifer, he was hauling at the time, both owned by him.
Although JJ suffered a couple of broken bones, his injuries only kept him at the hospital for less than a week, before being released and ready to fix Heifer, which cost him a small fortune to rebuild: ‘I bought the car when I was 20-something years old, and it has a lot of sentimental value, I wanted to fix it at any cost’, he told DragZine.
You can't keep a good racer down for long. Memphis' JJdaBoss was back in action within a week after this rough… https://t.co/YAWQGWV2GX
— Dragzine.com (@dragzinedotcom) September 11, 2017
However, believing Heifer had only suffered some ‘cosmetic damage’, he took it to the streets of Memphis less than a week later, only for it to break ‘the wheel studs and roll over twice’, requiring more effort by the garage for an already tired and bruised JJ Da Boss. Nonetheless, the important part is that he overcame both situations without losing his life.
Who Are JJ and Tricia?
Everyone knows the names JJ Da Boss and Tricia when they’re on the road, but very few people know who they are when cameras are off.
Born in Memphis in 1973, Jonathan Day spent his entire life roofing, to continue his family’s tradition, developing a deep love for old cars which not only led the way to him becoming an expert in the mechanical aspects, but in building as well. Despite the fact that his family was deeply religious, his father’s street racing career inspired the young Jonathan to follow the same path in life.
Ziptie! Enough said! #MemphisStreetOutlaws #jjdaboss #ziptie pic.twitter.com/OCGfufgr8h
— JJ Da Boss MSO (@MSO_JJdaboss) September 27, 2017
Although JJ was imprisoned for eight years for reasons still unknown, he rebuilt his life by learning how to ‘appreciate and also respect life and everyone in it’, and following his passion for fixing old cars. JJ now fairly splits his time between his passion for cars and speed and his young family with Tricia, with whom he has welcomed three kids, added to the other eight children he has from previous relationships.
Regardless of his tumultuous life, JJ is nowadays known not only as the top race driver in Memphis, but also leading one of the entire country’s most successful race teams, formed by Tricia, Precious Cooper and her sister Chelsea.
Who Else has Crashed in the Show?
Big Chief and Chucky
If it isn’t obvious enough, JJ and Tricia aren’t the only ones to have suffered horrible crashes while in the show, as Big Chief and Chucky are also remembered for almost not making it out alive from the road.
Said accident occurred while filming “Street Outlaws” in November 2015, while Big Chief drove his Pontiac GTO and Chucky his 1969 Camaro. The race has just started when Chucky lost control and crashed against Big Chief, sending him rolling over the pavement in one of the most devastating and shocking scenes ever shown in the show.
While both Chucky and Big Chief fortunately got out of it alive, their wrecks remain as one of the most terrible “Street Outlaws” has ever seen, and is a constant reminder of the real dangers of racing, which Big Chief is deeply aware of: ‘you don’t talk that much about it until things like this happen, that’s when you really appreciate all the extra time and money that goes into making a car safe’, he said, after being released from the hospital with several broken bones, and after suffering a concussion.
Precious Cooper
In early 2021, the star of Memphis’ team Precious Cooper, suffered an ugly-looking accident while racing against Stevie Croom from South Carolina. Although both teams were quite skeptical about the road’s condition before the race, they went ahead without knowing what was ahead.
Street Outlaws: Memphis Precious Cooper#preciouscooperstreetoutlaws #preciouscooperracing #queenofthestreets #preciousstreetracer #preciouscooperChelseaCooper #preciouscooperJJDaBoss #preciouscoopervschuck
Click on the link to knowhttps://t.co/p45GQcVdrG pic.twitter.com/X3iRSnIElv— eCelebrityFacts (@ecelebrityfacts) April 21, 2018
Only a couple of seconds into the race, Precious lost control of ZipTie, and though she skillfully avoided crashing against Croom, her car ended up flipping on the side road at least eight times. The accident didn’t look good from afar, but she was thankfully safe and just a little upset when JJ finally opened the stuck driver’s door: ‘I’m fine, I’m mad about the car!’, were her first words after the crash.
ZipTie wasn’t the only car damaged in the process, but fortunately the impact suffered by Croom and his vehicle wasn’t that severe. There were no hard feelings between the teams – the most important part was to see everyone safely making it out alive.
Brandon James
While Brandon James is a new name in the street racing world, his accomplishments so far have secured him a spot in “Street Outlaws” for a long time. He debuted on TV by appearing in “Mega Cash Days”, which he impressively won despite facing veteran drivers from all around the US.
Day two at #streetcarsupernationals and we just finished our test pass. Next up is elimination rounds 😈
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•#grudgeracing #grudgematch #dragracing #dragcars #smallblock #twinturbos #streetoutlaws #noprep #butitspreppedtoday pic.twitter.com/TuIrIMHobj— Solar Needs Racing (@SolarNeedRacing) November 23, 2019
Despite his rapid rise to fame, Brandon unfortunately suffered a serious accident while racing against Lizzy Musi for an “America’s List” episode in Nebraska, in early 2021. The race had barely started when Brandon lost control of the car, flipping it over the grass and barely avoided crashing against his competitor. Musi was the first one to run to his help, but he was thankfully well, but visibly upset.
In early 2022 Brandon had another accident while racing against Memphis’ Dennis Bailey for “Fastest In America”, but this time the accident was significantly worse than the previous one. As seen on the footage, Bailey quickly lost control of his car and ended up crashing into Brandon, who was sent over the side road before his car was engulfed in fire, becoming one the most serious-looking accidents ever seen in the “Street Outlaws”, on top of causing huge controversy regarding whose fault it was.
Brandon fortunately made it out alive, but just barely.
James “Doc” Love
Known for his impressive feats while racing for the 405, James Love – also known as Doc – is definitely one of the most popular original “Street Outlaws” cast members.
Sweet pic of the #StreetBeast last weekend at Ohio Valley. Come chk me out in Atlanta this weekend #StreetOutlaws pic.twitter.com/g5Gah2AjFL
— James Love (@StOutlawsDoc) June 1, 2016
Regardless of his experience and skill behind the wheel, Doc crashed The Street Beast while filming the show in late 2020. As seen in the footage, his car rolled over several times on the grass, before finally coming to a stop. Though his fellow drivers and emergency staff quickly ran to his help, the accident left Doc unconscious for almost half an hour.
As Doc later affirmed on his Facebook page, he has no memories of the race at all, and was still struggling with ‘symptoms from a bad concussion’ a couple of months after the crash. While Doc lamented how costly the repairs of The Street Beast were, he thanked his family, friends and fans for their support, on top of giving a shout out to the garage which built the chassis that he affirms ‘saved’ his life.
Jeff Lutz
It would be an understatement to say the accident suffered by Jeff Lutz’ in May 2021 was terrible. It all happened while he raced his yellow 1957 Chevy for “Street Outlaws”, against the 405 team’s newest addition Damon Merchant, but what started as a normal race ended up with Jeff’s car destroyed, and himself thrown out.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZKEioPrpjD
Fortunately, Jeff swiftly received appropriate medical care, and was quickly taken to the hospital. The bad times came after his recovery, when he heartbreakingly realized rebuilding his beloved Chevy was an uphill road!
Deciding there wasn’t much point in recovering the Chevy, Jeff commissioned Dennis MacPherson to build his next drag car: ‘I’ve seen a bunch of the work that Dennis has done over the years, it’s beautiful stuff, and he was my next choice other than myself’, he told Race Pages at the time.
Although saying goodbye to the 1957 Chevrolet was an emotional rollercoaster, given that it basically saved his life, his new-built Bel Air preserves that vintage vibe, while providing Jeff with everything he needs to keep doing what he does best.
Shane McAlary
The last couple of years haven’t been the best for Shane McAlary and his Chevrolet Vega. Back in 2016, he crashed while filming “Street Outlaws”, leaving his “Blackbird” in the middle of the road, and no other alternative than to retire from the rest of the season.
Shane took at over two years before being content with the Blackbird’s rebuild, but unfortunately luck wasn’t on his side during his comeback, and he crashed again in mid-2021. He was left pretty bruised and with a couple of broken ribs, but the worst part was to see his car destroyed again, after working so hard on it.
According to a Facebook Live video he shared, Shane apparently isn’t planning on rebuilding the Vega once again, and his future in the racing world is sadly left unknown.
Kamikaze
The 1981 Chevy El Camino is a very special car for the Oklahoma team in “Street Outlaws”. The legendary ELCO once belonged to Tyler “Flip” Priddy, who died in 2013 and left the car in hands of Big Chief, who gave it to Chris “Kamikaze” Day, eliciting the promise that he would do justice with it on the road.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=263308961828495&id=100044481787644
While Kamikaze did well in taking the ELCO through a fair share of victories, “Street Outlaws” audience saw it wrecked in a horrible way in 2021. Fortunately, Kamikaze got out of it unharmed, but had no other option than to sell the El Camino’s unruined parts to afford his new C5 Corvette.
Although Chris’ decision to completely replace the ELCO is understandable, given its deplorable condition after the crash, leaving such an important car behind is sad for any good “Street Outlaws” fan. However, these types of sacrifices and risks happen, when drivers decide to pursue their biggest life passion – street car racing.
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