Police address findings on death of rising motocross star Aidan Zingg
Two days after Zingg died June 28 after a mid-race crash on the dirt track about 300 miles north of Los Angeles, the Mammoth Lakes (California) Police Department announced it would investigate. Almost three weeks later, Heilman told USA TODAY Sports that police are wrapping up the investigation.
'There's nothing criminal,'' Heilman said on Friday, July 18. 'Just an unfortunate accident.''
As far as completing the investigation, Heilman said, 'I just got to complete one final little report there and then we'll officially close it. … It took a little while to finish this thing out because we don't want to just bombard the family with questions and whatnot.''
On June 30, Aidan parents, Bob and Shari, told USA TODAY Sports that they welcomed the police investigation as they dealt with conflicting reports over what happened during the crash at the 2025 Big Bike Weekend Mammoth Motocross.
Bob Zingg said the head of event safety told them Aidan was involved in a crash 'by himself" but that two riders said another rider was involved.
'They'll never get complete closure," Heilman said. 'Losing a child like that's going to be tough."
Heilman said the reports from the investigation will be forwarded to the Mono County Sheriff's Office, which is conducting an autopsy of Aidan. The Sheriff's Office has released no information, but Zingg's mother told USA TODAY Sports that Aidan died from "cardiac tamponade."
Cardiac tamponade, according to the Cleveland Clinic, "describes a heart that has so much fluid around it that it can't pump enough blood. The force of this fluid makes it hard for your heart to do its job."
A healthcare provider has to remove the extra fluid with a needle or surgery, according to the clinic, which reports, 'You need quick treatment for a good outcome.''
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