Canadian racing driver Robert Wickens was involved in a brutal crash while contesting the seventh lap of IndyCar’s 500-mile race at Pocono Speedway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The crash, which saw Wickens fly through the air and endure a violent explosion, also took out Ryan Hunter-Reay, Takuma Sato, Pietro Fittipaldi, and Wickens’ teammate James Hinchcliffe.
An official update on his overall condition hasn’t been released by IndyCar or the hospital where the popular driver was airlifted, but a Schmidt Peterson Motorsports statement issued to the media on Sunday night claims that he’s suffered “orthopedic injuries and is still being evaluated.”
“Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver Robert Wickens, involved in a crash on Lap 7 of the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway today, has been admitted to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pennsylvania, with orthopedic injuries,” read the press release. “He is still being evaluated.”
Details on his condition or the exact amount of G-forces that he was subjected to during impact haven’t been divulged, but as this video shows, it’s a horrifying crash and he’s lucky to have walked away from such a vicious shunt. As far as who’s to blame, Wickens was fighting for position with Andretti Autosport’s Ryan Hunter-Reay, who appears to have lightly tapped Wickens’ car right before things got nasty. Or was it the other way around? Michael Andretti, Hunter-Reay’s team owner seems to think so.
“He’s [Hunter-Reay] fine, he didn’t hit that hard,” Andretti told an NBC reporter on live TV. “I think Robert could’ve backed off a little bit, but that’s the way it goes.”
“Robert should’ve backed out, he was on the inside and not even halfway up on Ryan’s left rear. He was on Ryan’s blind spot,” he added.
All other drivers involved have been cleared from the medical center. We will provide updates on Wickens’ condition as they’re released by official sources.