The incident prompted comparisons to the events at the 1977 South African Grand Prix, where volunteer track marshal, Frederick Jansen van Vuuren, ran across the main straight to aid a car and was hit at 170 mph by Tom Pryce, who couldn't see him until it was too late because of the steep crest on the straight. Both Van Vuuren and Pryce were killed by the impact. A similar incident occurred at the 2000 German Grand Prix when a disgruntled ex-Mercedes employee walked along part of the circuit in protest before being arrested. This caused a safety car, which eliminated the lead of Mika Häkkinen, driving for McLaren Mercedes. Unlike the German protester, Horan ran directly down the middle of the track, and intentionally towards oncoming cars and lurching towards some of them.