Justin Wilson Suffers Head Injury At IndyCar Race

Justin Wilson is in a coma after suffering a severe head injury during the IndyCar race on Sunday. Wilson was airlifted from the Pocono Raceway after getting hit by debris during the race causing the severe head injury.

The British race car driver was hit by debris from the car of Sage Karam after it spun into the wall. The car of Wilson swerved to the left before hitting the interior wall. He is currently in critical condition at the Lehigh Valley Health Network Cedar Crest Hospital.

Immediately after the accident, safety crew flocked to the car of Wilson before he was airlifted off the race track. Michael Andretti said it was a difficult situation and they are praying for Justin. He added they are hoping he was doing fine. Andretti owns the car driven by Wilson and Ryan Hunter-Reay, winner of the race.

Hunter-Ray said he was thinking about Wilson while in Victory Lane. Justin Wilson is a popular driver who spoke in behalf of his co-drivers when it came to competition and safety. Hunter-Reay said he is aware that Wilson was unconscious and unresponsive when he was airlifted. He added it was very bad and he was apprehensive about what happened.

Justin’s brother, Stefan Wilson, tweeted what he knew about the condition of his brother. Julia, wife of Justin, was on her way from Colorado to Pennsylvania while Stefan was on his way to the hospital from Indianapolis using the plane of Tony Stewart, who lent it to him.

I have no update on his condition, he's been moved to the local hospital, and I'm trying to get there to be with him. Please don't speculate

— Stefan Wilson (@stef_wilson) August 23, 2015

Hunter-Reay wanted to get an update on the status of Justin Wilson before the race resumed and while he was on his race-winning car. He said they can probably work on getting something like a canopy to provide protection while maintaining “the tradition of the sport.” He added it was scary to “get hit in the head” with debris from another car.

Justin Wilson Being Airlifted After Suffering A Serious Head Injury - image credit: theguardian.com

In May 2014, James Hinchcliffe suffered a concussion after getting hit by debris at the inaugural Grand Prix at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway race track. While Hinchcliffe missed practice for a number of days due to the injury, he completed the Indianapolis 500 after two weeks.

Justin Wilson, a 37-year-old Sheffield, England native, joined the season without a full-time car. He joined the team of Andretti and was racing his sixth out of seven scheduled races for the team. Wilson was initially scheduled to join two races at Indianapolis when the deal was made in March.

He was able to find sponsors for another five races, and was able to finish with a season-best second at Mid-Ohio near the start of the month. He said he played it clean during the race and did not take any unnecessary risks that would endanger Graham Rahal since Rahal belonged to the championship race and he was not.

When Wilson broke a bone in 2011 at Mid-Ohio, he was sidelined for the last six races of the season. The injury caused him to wear a back brace for over two months. In 2012, Justin Wilson said the death of Dan Wheldon in 2011 and his injuries did not change his perspective about the race nor did he consider changing careers.

He said in 2012 after he returned that he talked with his wife and told her it is what they do and they should prepare for any eventuality if something will happen. He added it is essential to know the risks and ensure the risks are acceptable. He said he found the risks acceptable but he will still continue to try to improve it.

While all drivers at the IndyCar try to make the race safer, in the end it is still a race car. Since they race hard and fast, whenever something goes wrong, it will be unpleasant. Wilson suffered a bruised lung and broke his pelvis at Fontana during the 2013 season finale.

Hunter-Reay said dire situations like these breed innovation. He added that life is like this in general and everything works this way. Hunter-Reay also said he is hoping Justin Wilson is fine and they are hoping to take a look at the positive side of things to deal with the problem of flying debris during the race.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday August 24 2015, 11:15 AM EST. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under World. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0