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Ryan Hunter-Reay was caught in the middle of Sunday’s epic crash at Pocono Raceway, watching from below as the now-hospitalized Robert Wickens flew overhead. High-speed contact spun RHR’s Andretti Honda Indy car and slung him into the wall, luckily missing out on the degree of the collision that his counterpart suffered at the hands of the “Tricky Triangle.”
Hunter-Reay was admittedly thankful after being cleared at the infield care center as he dismissed his own well-being in favor of vocally supporting Wickens. “It’s unfortunate for the start of the race,” he offered. “But I just hope Robert’s all right. I was lucky to get out of that one.”
“I was pretty shocked I got hit in the back,” Hunter-Reay continued. “That is neither here nor there right now. We’re just thinking about Robert.”
As the following video shows, the 2014 Indianapolis 500 winner narrowly escaped the severity of Wickens’ injuries; the roll hoop directly behind Hunter-Reay’s head, an incredibly resilient piece of equipment made up of high-strength composites, was even heavily damaged.
Ryan’s wife, Beccy, was understandably shaken after the wreck. She watched her husband endure a similar experience at the 2010 Indy 500 when Mike Conway performed an aerial act that nearly resulted in crucial injuries for Hunter-Reay. However, Beccy found a bit of solace when their son Ryden handed her a seemingly-supernatural keepsake.
The mysterious token appears to have been more than symbolic of what the family had just witnessed at Pocono.
Beccy then extended her prayers to Wickens and his fiancé Karli Woods, tweeting Sunday afternoon.
Wickens was reported to have suffered two broken ankles, a broken arm, a pulmonary contusion and a possible vertebrae fracture.
Stay tuned to The Drive as we receive updates from both IndyCar and Wickens’ Schmidt-Peterson Motorsports team in the coming hours.
