Indoor racer died from natural causes

A death at a Buffalo Grove racing facility was ruled Friday to be from natural causes.

Jesus Barrera, 39, of New Orleans was at Chicago Indoor Racing Thursday for a corporate event when his go-kart crashed and his co-workers found him unconscious and not breathing, police said.

Tony Stewart, the owner of the facility at 301 Hastings Drive, said those near Barrera said they saw him slumped over the wheel of the go-kart before crashing.

"It's unfortunate when something like this happens," Stewart said. "We've been here for over four years, and this is the first incident of its kind."

The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled Friday that Barrera had a heart condition that caused his death. Officials said he had hardening and narrowing of his arteries that had built up.

After Barrera's go-kart crashed, employees at Chicago Indoor Racing started performing CPR until police and fire personnel arrived on the scene.

Barrera was pronounced dead at Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights.

The Buffalo Grove police were investigating the accident prior to the medical examiner's findings, Cmdr. Steve Husak said.

Husak said that was routine procedure and safety at the facility was not an issue.