Officials in Tennessee say seven people are dead and many more are injured following an accident at a drag racing exhibition Saturday night.

The crash happened an "exhibition burnout" when a driver spins his tires to make them heat up and smoke at the Cars for Kids charity event in Selmer, located about 80 miles east of Memphis.

Amateur video of the crash shows the car's engine revving loudly before the drag car sped down a highway lined with spectators on both sides. After a few hundred feet, the smoking vehicle skidded off the road.

“Bodies were flying into the air,” Selmer Police Chief Neal Burks said.

Tennessee Highway Patrol spokesman Mike Browning said the seven who died included a 15-year-old and a 17-year-old. At least eight others were taken to hospitals and many others had minor injuries.

The car involved has been driven by drag racer Troy Critchley, of Wylie, Texas; but no word yet on whether or not Critchley was driving the car at the time of the accident.