Justin Wilson, the British racing driver killed after a 200mph crash in the United States, may have saved the lives of six people by donating his organs.
Stefan Wilson, his brother, said in a tweet that his brother had signed up to an organ donation service even though he was only 37. Justin, who had two children, died after 24 hours in a coma as a result of being hit on the head by flying debris while taking part in an IndyCar race on Sunday at the Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania.
“With #giftoflife @justin_wilson saved 6 lives today,” Stefan Wilson said in his tweet. “He just keeps setting the bar higher.” His message was retweeted more than 70,000 times within 12 hours.
Wilson, from Sheffield, spent a year in Formula One, driving for Minardi and Jaguar before moving to the US. He was coming towards the end of his career and did not have a full-time drive at the start of this season until he was called in to help the Andretti Autosport team.
Wilson was signed for the final five races of the season; the race in Pocono was the penultimate. Although he enjoyed a successful career in American racing, he did not make money on the scale of Jenson Button, a contemporary, and Lewis Hamilton. As a result, fellow IndyCar drivers have helped to set up a trust fund for his children, Jessica, seven, and Jane, five.
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Motor racing now waits to see what the outcome will be of Wilson’s appalling injury on the banked oval of the Pocono Raceway. The FIA, motor racing’s governing body, will renew tests next month on fighter-style cockpit canopies. First tests showed that the canopies can withstand big impacts and it may be that Wilson would have survived had his car been fitted with one.