Dale Earnhardt Jr., Family Survive Plane Crash

'Everyone is safe,' tweet says
By Bob Cronin,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 15, 2019 6:05 PM CDT
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Family Survive Plane Crash
Amy Reimann, left, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. arrive at the NASCAR auto racing awards ceremony Thursday, Nov. 29, 2018, in Las Vegas.   (AP Photo/Isaac Brekken)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family suffered only cuts and abrasions when their private plane caught fire as it landed Thursday afternoon at a small airport in Tennessee. Their Cessna Citation had gone off the runway after landing at Elizabethton Municipal Airport, officials told ESPN. Everyone was taken to a hospital to be evaluated. In addition to Earnhardt, the plane was carrying his wife, Amy Reimann; their daughter, Isla Rose, 1; two pilots, and the family dog. Earnhardt's sister tweeted that "Everyone is safe." The FAA and NTSB have already said they're investigating the crash, per USA Today.

The airport is about 15 miles from Bristol Motor Speedway, where this weekend's NASCAR race is being held. Earnhardt, who retired from full-time racing at the end of the 2017 season, has been working as an NBC analyst. Earnhardt won 26 NASCAR Cup series races, his father won 76, and his grandfather Ralph was named one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998, per NBC. (More Dale Earnhardt Jr. stories.)

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