Police discuss a fight involving several people Sunday afternoon during a go-kart race at the Richmond Karting Speedway at 810 Main St. A woman watching the altercation collapsed and CPR was performed by bystanders, according to police. Keith Edwards/Kennebec Journal

RICHMOND — A woman suffered an apparent heart attack and had to be revived multiple times Sunday afternoon following an altercation between her husband and another adult related to children who were racing go-karts at the Richmond Karting Speedway.

Several police and emergency medical personnel responded to the scene to aid the woman, and to talk with witnesses about what had happened.

The woman, whom police declined to identify Sunday, was revived by public safety workers who were at the track, and taken by ambulance to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston.

Information on her condition was not available Sunday evening.

Deputy Mark Anderson of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office said the chain of events started as a kart race for drivers between ages 10 and 12 was about to begin.

A father of one of the young racers was angry about his son’s starting position, Anderson said. Just before the race was to have begun, the angry father ran onto the track and pulled his child out of the race.

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The man, Anderson said, “was so furious, he got into a confrontation with relatives of another racer,” which eventually escalated to punches being thrown.

While watching that confrontation, the man’s wife suffered apparent cardiac arrest and collapsed under the hot sun, according to police.

She was revived, using CPR, by Ian Alexander, a member of the Richmond Fire Department and a corporal with the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office, and Troy Morton, sheriff of Penobscot County, both of whom were at the track on their own, not related to the jobs in law enforcement.

“Thank God for Troy Morton and Ian Alexander, who were here on their own time,” Anderson said, crediting them for potentially saving the woman’s life.

Alexander said he was there to help in case any of the racers needed medical attention during the day. He said the scene was hectic following the confrontation, with people — some still yelling — crowded around him and Morton as they worked to revive the woman.

Anderson said some witnesses did not want to say what happened, but others eventually described what they saw.

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Shortly after about a half-dozen police officers arrived at the go-karting track, Cpl. Aaron Skofield of the Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s Office addressed the crowd of several dozen people, most of them friends and family members of racers.

Skofield said: “We need your help. We need people to help us learn what happened.”

Police interviewed many witnesses, getting names and numbers in case they need more information as they piece together what happened. Track officials urged anyone who might have seen anything to talk to police before leaving the track.

Anderson said charges are possible, including disorderly conduct and perhaps assault. Police declined to identify the participants in the confrontation, none of whom were charged at the scene.

A woman who witnessed some of the incident, who declined to provide her name, said the woman who suffered the health problem said she “can’t take this,” and then collapsed to the ground.

The witness said she thought it sad adults were fighting about a children’s go-kart race.

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Willie Anderson, owner of the track, said he had never had seen such an incident at his business at 810 Main St., also known as Route 197, near Interstate 295.

“We’ve owned it eight years and never had anything like this happen,” he said. “It’s basically a fun, family-oriented kind of place.”

Anderson said he had not witnessed the confrontation, but heard it was the result of young racers’ parents arguing.

Racing at the track was shut down for the rest of Sunday due to the incident, which occurred at about 12:30 p.m.

Multiple Sagadahoc County Sheriff’s deputies responded to the scene, as did two Gardiner ambulances, Richmond firefighters and several Maine state troopers.

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