IndyCar Driver Dan Wheldon Dies in 15-Car Pileup

Dan Wheldon, an IndyCar driver famous in the US for his achievements on the track, was only 33. He died during the recent Indy 300 race in Las Vegas, as his car was caught in a 15-vehicle pileup and burst into flames.

The video below is of the accident: it shows Wheldon’s car being tossed high into the air after collision with another vehicle and then hurled into the fencing.

Moments later, it’s engulfed in flames and, though the driver got medical assistance on the spot, he died on the way to the hospital due to the injuries sustained.

“IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today,” organizers say in a statement cited by TMZ.

Wheldon is survived by his wife Susie and sons Oliver and Sebastian.

His death proves, once more, that motor-racing is not a game since the smallest error, be it human or not, can cost lives, the Telegraph underlines.

“It was a tragic reminder that safety in motor racing can never be guaranteed despite the remarkable improvements in safety,” the British publication writes.

“Wheldon’s death will bring the Indycar series’ record under great scrutiny, particularly as he was driving in a $5 million [€3.6 million] challenge to try to win the race in Vegas from last place on the grid,” adds the same publication.

Before the race, Wheldon wrote on his blog that he was taking part in the race because he thought it’d be “pure entertainment” but the Telegraph notes that this made it sound as if he was taking part in a game.

Motor-racing is no game.

“Ernest Hemingway said there were only three sports: bull-fighting, mountaineering and motor racing. The rest, Hemingway said, were mere games. Tragedies such as this remind us of the painful truth in that statement,” the British publication further says.