Racing driver Jessi Combs, known as 'the fastest woman on four wheels', dies while trying to break a record

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Jessi Combs attends the Project Angel Food VIP shopping cocktail in 2012.

(CNN) - Jessi Combs, the race car driver who won the title of “the fastest woman on four wheels,” after setting a record with a jet-propelled car, died. She crashed the vehicle, authorities said, while trying to break a speed record on land.

Combs died Tuesday in the Alvord Desert in southeastern Oregon, the Harney County Sheriff's Office said. He was 39 years old.

"She was an excellent builder, engineer, driver, manufacturer and scientific communicator, and she struggled every day to encourage others with her prodigious example," said Adam Savage, former co-host of the television program "Mythbusters."

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Combs appeared in multiple episodes of the show, while host Kari Byron was on maternity leave. She also appeared as a presenter on shows like "All Girls Garage" and "Overhaulin '".

Combs became the fastest woman on four wheels in 2013 at the North American Eagle Supersonic Speed ​​Challenger, when she set a record 640.5 km / h.

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.

- Adam Savage (@donttrythis) August 28, 2019

In October, Combs set a new top speed of 777.3 km / h in another race.

On Tuesday, she tried to go faster when she crashed.

“On August 27, 2019, at approximately 4:00 pm, the 911 Harney County Center received a call informing that a jet car trying to break a speed record on land in the Alvord Desert had crashed and caused a death, ”said the sheriff's office.

Her resume was full of news: the first woman to register for any Ultra4 event; the first woman to compete in The Race of Gentlemen event.

His dedication to the empowerment of women in the automotive industry was also significant. It has a line of welding equipment for women with Lincoln Electric, as well as an online collaboration dedicated to empowering and educating women through industrial skills, called RealDeal.

Valerie Thompson, the first woman to exceed 482.8 km / h on a motorcycle and the "fastest woman on two wheels" expressed regret on Twitter, posting photos of the two together.

"It is with great regret that I give the news that Jessi Combs died yesterday while trying to break a speed record on land," he wrote. “I also had the opportunity to try this record, but it was not my turn… this hits me. Good luck, Jessi Combs. ”

Deaths Records