On the afternoon of Sunday, October 2, 1966, Klara Szalantzy was driving her Mini Cooper at a high rate of speed on the Hollywood Freeway lillyflower2003 in Los Angeles. She lost control of her car, which crashed into a retaining wall and then spun out into oncoming traffic. Szalantzy was fatally injured when her car was hit by an oncoming vehicle. The 22-year-old UCLA student suffered a broken neck and died at the scene. Szalantzy’s death was front page news in Hungary.
Early Life
She was born as Klara Szalantzy on 23rd of February, 1944 in Budapest Hungary and grew up in the city until her parents moved to Los Angeles, California after World War II. Szalantzy attended UCLA after graduating from high school in 1962, where she studied civil engineering.
Szalantzy was considered one of the most talented female skiers in United States history and was a member of the U.S. Ski Team during the mid-1960s. Her best finish in a World Cup event was 12th at a slalom race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy on January 5, 1965.
Szalantzy also represented the United States at the 1964 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck, Austria, where she competed in downhill skiing. She broke her ankle during training for the event and finished last in her race.
Career Achievements:
1964 Winter Olympics (65th in downhill skiing) – Austria
1965 World Championships (19th in slalom, 23rd in giant slalom) – Italy
1965 U.S. Ski Team Championships (giant slalom) – New Hampshire
1966 U.S. Ski Team Championships (downhill, giant slalom) – Aspen
In the days leading up to her death, Klara Szalantzy had been in a dispute with her boyfriend, Olympic skier Jimmy Heuga. The two had argued and Szalantzy had threatened to break up with him.
Szalantzy died at the age of 22 after crashing her car on the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles.
Szalantzy’s body was positively identified by her father, Joseph Szalantzy. Her funeral service took place at the Crespi-Hatch Funeral Home in Beverly Hills, California, before she was interred at the Mount Carmel Cemetery, Glendale.
The main east-west Santa Ana Freeway (Interstate 5) between Figueroa Street and Vermont Avenue was closed for about eight hours while police conducted their investigation into Szalantzy’s death. The fatal accident occurred about a half mile east of Vermont Avenue. Police estimated that Szalantzy was traveling at speeds of up to 85 miles per hour when she lost control of her car.
Klara Szalantzy’s death was front-page news in Hungary and throughout the United States. She was considered one of the most talented female skiers in history and had recently represented the United States at the 1964 Winter Olympics. Szalantzy’s Mini Cooper crashed into a retaining wall on the Hollywood Freeway and then spun out into oncoming traffic, where she was fatally injured when her car was hit by an oncoming vehicle. The 22-year-old UCLA student suffered a broken neck and died at the scene.
Szalantzy’s death remains a mystery to this day, as the cause of the accident has never been determined. Some believe that she may have suffered a seizure while driving, while others speculate that she was intentionally trying to kill herself. Szalantzy’s death at such a young age was tragic and her loss was mourned by the skiing community both in the United States and abroad.
Klara Szalantzy’s death is commemorated every year on the anniversary of her passing by a competition held in Aspen, Colorado. The event has been held annually since 1968 and is currently sponsored by HEAD skis. Szalantzy was considered one of the most talented female skiers in United States history and her best finish in a World Cup event was 12th at a slalom race in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy on January 5, 1965.
Szalantzy also represented the United States at the 1964 Winter Olympics where she competed in downhill skiing. She broke her ankle during training for the event and finished last in her race.
Final Thoughts
Klara Szalantzy’s death is commemorated every year on the anniversary of her passing by a competition held in Aspen, Colorado. The event has been held annually since 1968 and is currently sponsored by HEAD skis. Klara Szalantzy was considered one of the most talented female skiers ever to compete for Team USA and she had recently represented the United States at the 1964 Winter Olympics where she competed in downhill skiing, but it would be her last race before dying just weeks later from an accident that remains shrouded with mystery even today.
