Widow of contractor electrocuted during 2023 NASCAR Chicago race setup files wrongful death lawsuit

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The widow of a contractor who died while setting up the 2023 NASCAR Chicago Street Race has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims proper safety precautions were not taken by NASCAR, the Chicago Park District and multiple rental companies during the setup of the event, lawyers told ABC7.

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Duane Tabinski, a 53-year-old audio specialist who lived in the Nashville area, died on June 30, 2023, after he was electrocuted in Grant Park.

His widow, Kristin Tabinski, filed the lawsuit in March 2024 with Clifford Law on behalf of her late husband's estate in Cook County Court. The lawsuit, obtained Friday by ABC7, is seeking $50,000 in damages.

In a statement in 2023, NASCAR only said the contractor suffered a "fatal medical emergency." After the Cook County Medical Examiner revealed Tabinski's cause of death to be electrocution, NASCAR did not respond to ABC7's multiple requests for comment at the time.

Duane Tabinski was the founder of an eponymous event production company, DUANE, and was in Chicago to supply audio equipment for the 2023 NASCAR Chicago Street Race. His coworkers told ABC7 last year that Tabinski had invented a special piece of audio equipment called Tracpac, and that is what he was setting up when at the time of his death.

Hours of rain flooded the downtown racetrack throughout race weekend last year. The forecast for the second-annual race this weekend looks to be more dry than the inaugural event was.

ABC7 has reached out to NASCAR and the Chicago Park District for comment.