IndyCar Driver Dies of Freak Head Injury

Justin Wilson was injured yesterday at Pocono Raceway
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Aug 24, 2015 8:45 PM CDT
IndyCar driver Dies of Freak Head Injury
This May 14, 2015, file photo shows Justin Wilson putting on his gloves as he prepares to drive during practice for the Indianapolis 500 auto race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Indianapolis.   (Michael Conroy)

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 tonight at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Wilson is a British driver who lived outside Denver in Longmont, Colo. He was hit in the head during yesterday's race by a piece of debris that had broken off another car.

Wilson's car veered into an interior wall on the track, and he was swiftly taken by helicopter to an Allentown, Pa., 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. (More IndyCar stories.)

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