A driver going 283 mph trying to set a land speed record during a racing event at Utah's famed Bonneville Salt Flats died Sunday after he lost control of his rocket-like vehicle called the Speed Demon, organizers said.

Driver Chris Raschke lost control about two and a half miles into a run and was treated by medical professionals at the scene, but died from his injuries, according to a statement from the Southern California Timing Association, which has organized the popular land-speed racing event known as "Speed Week" since the late 1940s.

For decades, the flat, glasslike white surface has drawn drivers from all over seeking to set new land speed world records and motorcycle and car fans to watch.

A remnant of a prehistoric lakebed, the salt flats that are about 100 miles west of Sa

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