Sam Dickson was a race car riding mechanic

Riding mechanic

A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during the race who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. They communicated with the pits and spotted from inside the car. Riding mechanics were used by most cars in the Indianapolis 500 from...

, and the first person to be killed in the Indianapolis 500

Indianapolis 500

The Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, also known as the Indianapolis 500, the 500 Miles at Indianapolis, the Indy 500 or The 500, is an American automobile race, held annually, typically on the last weekend in May at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana...

. In the inaugural race, Dickson was the riding mechanic for Arthur Greiner

Arthur Greiner

Arthur Greiner was an American racecar driver, and historically the first to finish last in the Indianapolis 500. Greiner crashed on the backstretch after completing twelve laps in the inaugural race...

 who was making his only 500 appearance. On lap twelve, one of the front wheels came off of the American Simplex

American Simplex

Not to be confused with S&M Simplex/Simplex/Crane-SimplexBilled as "a motor-car symphony", the American Simplex was an American automobile manufactured in Mishawaka, Indiana, USA, from 1906 to 1915 by the Simplex Motor Car Company; the company shortened its product's name to Amplex in 1910 to avoid...

 car Greiner was driving, causing Greiner to lose control and both men to be thrown from the car. Dickson flew into a fence twenty feet from the car. Reports state that Dickson was killed instantly, although the crowd evidently swarmed around the body, requiring the state militia who were acting as security at the event to use their guns as clubs to clear a path for the attending doctors.