Canadian Robert Wickens suffers serious injuries in Pocono crash

By The Associated Press

Canadian IndyCar driver Robert Wickens has been admitted to a hospital in nearby Allentown with what the series called “orthopedic injuries” sustained in a violent wreck early in the race Sunday.

IndyCar said Wickens was awake and alert as he was airlifted from the track to the hospital.

A statement released by his team late Sunday night said the 29-year-old from Guelph, Ont., was being treated for injuries to his lower extremities, right arm and spine as well as a pulmonary contusion. The statement added Wickens will likely have to undergo surgery.

Wickens was attempting to pass Ryan Hunter-Reay when the two cars slightly touched. That caused Hunter-Reay’s car to careen into the wall and Wickens’ car was pulled along for the ride. Once Wickens’ car soared over Hunter-Reay’s and hit the fence, it spun round and round like a top.

The fencing was shredded and Wickens’ car was reduced to just the tub, which came to a rest on the track along an interior wall.

Medical workers calmly attended to Wickens, who was taken to an ambulance before he was transported to the helicopter. The impact of the wreck tore out a large section of fencing that needed almost two hours to repair.

Curt Cavin, the vice president of communications for IndyCar, said on the TV broadcast that Wickens was “awake and alert'” when he was transported to Lehigh Valley Hospital.

Hunter-Reay, fellow Canadian James Hinchcliffe, Pietro Fittipaldi and Takuma Sato were among the drivers collected in Sunday’s wreck. Hinchcliffe seemed to be in pain, grabbing his wrists as he slowly left his car.

Hinchcliffe, of Oakville, was cleared and released from the medical centre. He declined to comment to reporters out of respect for Wickens.

Only eight laps had been completed in the 500-mile race before the race was stopped. The race resumed after a two-hour delay.

“That’s the worst thing you can see. He’s hurt. He’s awake and alert and at least he’s alive,” driver Sebastien Bourdais said.

Fittipaldi later tweeted:”Thank god I am fine and walking away from that accident. Praying for you @robertwickens, I hope you’re ok.”

“We can only hope one thing, that Robbie, Hinch and everyone involved is ok,” Graham Rahal tweeted during the delay. “These are the dangers we face, but we always hate to see it. The start can be debated for years, but doesn’t matter right now, focus on the well being of our friends and competitors.”

Pocono Raceway president Ben May said about 80 feet of fence and a few posts were damaged in the wreck.

Bourdais raised concerns about the quality of the repairs and condition of the fence before he got back in the car.

May said: “It may not be the prettiest job but it’s going to be safe.”

Justin Wilson died from a head injury in 2015 when a piece of debris from a crashed car bounced off the track at Pocono Raceway and hit his helmet.

Hinchcliffe is a team teammate of Wickens on the all-Canadian team. The two raced each other as youngsters in Toronto and Hinchcliffe, runner-up on ABC’s “Dancing With The Stars” in 2017, helped lure Wickens to IndyCar this season after a successful career in Europe.

Hinchcliffe survived his own near-fatal accident when a broken part from his car pierced an artery during a 2015 crash at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Hinchcliffe would have bled to death if not for the medical team holding the artery together as it raced him from the track directly to a hospital.

A year earlier, Hinchcliffe suffered a concussion when he was hit in the helmet by a piece of debris on the road course at Indianapolis.

Wickens had reeled off five straight top-five finishes and matched a career-best second in the last race at Mid-Ohio.

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