Famous race car driver, Dan Wheldon, was killed in a massive crash during a Las Vegas race Sunday.
The 33-year-old reportedly died as the result of a multi-car pileup in the IndyCar series finale.
“IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries,” he said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today. IndyCar, its drivers and owners, have decided to end the race,” said IndyCar CEO, Randy Bernard in a statement.
Wheldon was vying for a win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and was 13 laps into the race when he ran into another race car and was sent flying into the outside wall.
Officials freed Wheldon from the fiery wreckage and, according to the New York Times, Wheldon was airlifted to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead two hours later.
Other drivers were injured in the pileup too, though they suffered minor injuries. Drivers, Will Power, JR Hildebrand and Pippa Mann were injured in the crash and remained hospitalized as a result.
According to the Huffington Post, Wheldon, who came to the United States from England in 1999, won 16 times throughout his IndyCar career—Wheldon won the IndyCar series in 2005. Wheldon also won the Indianapolis 500 in 2005 and earlier this year, he won the Indianapolis 500 for a second time.
Wheldon found it difficult to stay in the series, he finished among the top 10 in IndyCar points every year from 2004 to 2010, but Sunday was only Wheldon’s third start of the 2011 campaign, according to the Associated Press.
Reportedly, the driver was headed for a great weekend, he had just signed an impressive deal with Andretti Autosport, the team with Wheldon won the 2005 Indy 500 with. Sunday, Wheldon had just agreed to a contract (which was supposed to be signed after the race) replacing famous driver, Danica Patrick for the next season.
Check out the video of the crash.
