Wheldon died of head injury, coroner says

Dan Wheldon died from blunt-force trauma to the head after the reigning Indianapolis 500 winner was involved in a 15-car collision Sunday in the IndyCar World Championships at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, the Clark County coroner's office said Monday.

Wheldon, 33, a native of Emberton, England, who lived in St. Petersburg, Fla., died at University Medical Center, where he was taken shortly after the fiery crash.

Medical personnel at the track worked on Wheldon before he was airlifted by helicopter at 1:19 p.m. He was pronounced dead 35 minutes later at UMC, according to the coroner's office. His manner of death was ruled an accident.

Wheldon's wife, Susie, and two young sons, Sebastian, 2, and Oliver, 7 months, reportedly were at the hospital at the time of his death.

Two other drivers, Pippa Mann and JR Hildebrand, were released from UMC after overnight treatment for their injuries.

IndyCar spokeswoman Amy Konrath said Mann had surgery for a burn to her right pinkie finger and will require a second surgery in two to three weeks, and Hildebrand had a severely bruised sternum.

Wheldon's death was the first racing fatality at the speedway since 1996, when an amateur sports-car driver crashed the day before the track's inaugural Indy Racing League -- now IndyCar Series -- event.

The last death in IndyCar was in 2006, when rookie Paul Dana died during practice at Miami-Homestead Speedway in Florida, another oval track.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.