IndyCar driver Justin Wilson has died of a head injury, it has been confirmed.
The British driver, who was 37, had been in a coma since sustaining a head injury when he was hit by a large piece of debris that broke off a car in a crash-filled race at Pocono Raceway on Sunday.
IndyCar made the announcement on Monday night at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. “This is a monumentally sad day for Indycar and the motor sports community as a whole,” Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co, the parent of Indycar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said in a statement posted online.
#INDYCAR driver Justin Wilson has passed away from his injuries. #BadassWilson http://t.co/RzecwmzPgb pic.twitter.com/hMzwsnFswO
— IndyCar Series (@IndyCar) August 25, 2015
“Justin’s elite ability to drive a race car was matched by his unwavering kindness, character and humility, which is what made him one of the most respected members of the paddock. As we know, the racing industry is one big family, and our efforts moving forward will be focused on rallying around Justin’s family to ensure they get the support they need during this unbelievably difficult time.”
Wilson, who was originally from Sheffield, in England, lived outside Denver in Longmont, Colorado. He was hit in the head during Sunday’s race by piece of debris that had broken off a car driven by Sage Karam. Wilson’s car veered into an interior wall at the track, and he was swiftly taken by helicopter to an Allentown, Pennsylvania, hospital.
He is survived by his wife, Julia, and two daughters, aged seven and five.
In a family statement posted on Wilson’s website, his wife, along with his parents, Keith and Lynne, and his brother Stefan – also an Indycar driver – said he had been “a loving father and devoted husband, as well as a highly competitive racing driver”.
Stefan Wilson later tweeted that his brother had previously requested that his organs be donated in the event of his death.
Can't even begin to describe the loss I feel right now. He was my Brother, my best friend, my role model and mentor. He was a champion!
— Stefan Wilson (@stef_wilson) August 25, 2015
Andretti Autosport, the team Wilson drove for, said it was “deeply saddened”.
In a statement, the racing team said: “He was a tremendous racer, a valuable member of the team and respected representative to our sport. While Justin was only part of the Andretti lineup for a short time, it only took a second for him to forever become part of the Andretti family.
“His life and racing career is a story of class and passion surpassed by none. Our thoughts and prayers remain with the Wilson family and fans worldwide.”
Karam, whose car was involved in the fatal incident, tweeted his sympathy after the news broke late on Monday evening:
I can't find the proper words to describe the pain and sympathy I feel for Justin and his family. #RIPJustin
— Sage Karam (@SageKaram) August 25, 2015
Pocono Raceway said in a statement: “It is with heavy hearts we express our deepest condolences to the Wilson family. Justin was a talented driver on the track and an amazing person to be around off it. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Justin’s family, his friends, his fans and everyone at Andretti Autosport. He will be missed.”
Other drivers joined the tributes as news spread that Wilson had not survived the accident:
Tough day in motorsport today as we loose another great person and driver. RIP Justin. You will be miss. Thoughts and prayers for his family
— Juan Pablo Montoya (@jpmontoya) August 25, 2015
Wow, what a sad day. @justin_wilson was a good man. A great man. I had the pleasure of knowing him and pray for his family. 🙏🏼
— Danica Patrick (@DanicaPatrick) August 25, 2015
Why do we do this? Because we love it, don't want to be anywhere else but a race car. We will keep your legacy my friend. Racers race.
— Tony Kanaan (@TonyKanaan) August 25, 2015
Immediately after Sunday’s race, Ryan Hunter-Reay – Wilson’s Andretti team-mate and the eventual race winner – said more needed to be done to ensure driver safety. “Maybe in the future we can work toward something that resembles a canopy,” he said. “Something that can give us a little bit of protection and still keep the tradition of the sport. Just to be innocent bystander like that and get hit in the head with a nose cone is a scary thought.”
Wilson won seven times over 12 seasons in open-wheel racing and finished as high as fifth in the Indianapolis 500. An acclaimed sports car racer, he won the prestigious 24 Hours of Daytona with Michael Shank Racing, and competed in 20 Formula One races in 2003 before moving to the US to join Champ Car.
He finished third in the Champ Car standings in 2005, and was runner-up in both 2006 and 2007. Wilson entered this season without a full-time ride, but went on to join Andretti Autosport and was in the sixth of seven scheduled races with the team. The IndyCar season concludes next Sunday in Sonoma, California.
The last IndyCar driver to die because of an on-track incident was Indianapolis 500 champion Dan Wheldon, another British driver, who was killed in the 2011 season finale at Las Vegas after his head hit a post when his car went airborne.
Wilson himself missed the Las Vegas race, having broken a bone in his back in an earlier race, at Mid-Ohio, that season. He missed six races and wore a back brace for more than two months. On his return to racing in 2012, he said he had not questioned his career choice. “You’ve got to know the risks and work out if those risks are acceptable. To me, it’s acceptable,” he said.
“But I’m not going to stop trying to improve it. All the drivers, this IndyCar, we’re always trying to make it safer, but at the end of the day, it’s a race car. We’re racing hard, we’re racing IndyCars and it’s fast. When it goes wrong, it can get messy.”
Associated Press contributed to this report.
