IndyCar driver Justin Wilson has died from a head injury suffered when a piece of debris struck him at Pocono Raceway. He was 37.
IndyCar made the announcement on Monday night at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Wilson is a British driver who lived outside Denver in Longmont, Colorado. He was hit in the head during Sunday’s race by piece of debris that had broken off another car. Wilson’s car veered into an interior wall at the track, and he was swiftly taken by helicopter to an Allentown, Pennsylvania, hospital.
The last IndyCar driver to die because of an on-track incident was Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon, who was killed in the 2011 season finale at Las Vegas after his head hit a post when his car went airborne.
Justin Wilson, of England, walks on pit road during qualifying for Sunday’s Pocono IndyCar 500 auto race, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015, in Long Pond, Pa. Wilson was injured during Sunday’s race and air lifted to the hospital. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
FILE – This is a May 14, 2015, file photo showing Justin Wilson, of England, putting on his gloves as he prepares to drive during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis. The British driver was in a coma in critical condition after sustaining a head injury when he was hit by a large piece of debris that broke off another car in the crash-filled race at Pocono Raceway on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
Justin Wilson, of England, drives through Turn 3 during the Pocono IndyCar 500 auto race, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2015, in Long Pond, Pa. Wilson was injured during Sunday’s race and air lifted to the hospital. (AP Photo/Derik Hamilton)
