Following a serious accident on April 3, 1977, at the Imola 200, he remained in a coma and died three days later in Bologna hospital at the age of 21.
[5] At the Bol d'Or he dominated for the first three quarters of an hour setting the lap record, but due to mechanical problems with the Yamaha TZ700 was forced to retire.
[6] On April 3, 1977, at the Imola 200, Evans was in third position when, due to an engine seizure at the Tamburello curve, he was thrown from his bike and, rolling for about fifty meters, hit the straw bales that served as protection at the edge of the circuit.
[3] According to the journalist Giancarlo Cevenini, if Evans had worn a fiberglass helmet he would have been saved, as the impact was excessively violent.
[3] Another American rider who took part in the Imola 200 and a contemporary of Evans, Randy Cleek, was killed in a road accident returning from the race.