IndyCar driver Justin Wilson has saved six lives through organs donated following his death, his brother has revealed.
Stefan Wilson wrote on Twitter that his elder brother’s organs were used in transplants after his death at a Pennsylvania hospital on Monday.
“With @giftoflife @justin—wilson saved 6 lives today,” Stefan Wilson wrote.
“He just keeps setting the bar higher. Keep Julia & the girls in your prayers #myherojw.”
Wilson, 37, died on Monday after succumbing to head injuries suffered when he was struck by a piece of debris from a fellow competitor’s car at Pocono Raceway a day earlier.
The British driver’s death plunged the sport into mourning and triggered calls for a review of safety measures in IndyCar.
It was the first fatality in IndyCar since a 2011 accident claimed the life of Dan Wheldon, the 2005 IndyCar Series champion and a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500.
US auto racing legend Eddie Cheever said Wilson’s death should lead to a thorough analysis of safety measures in the sport, while acknowledging the freak nature of Sunday’s accident.
“Safety is not one of those things that because you have a clear record for a certain amount of time that you stop doing development,” Cheever, now an IndyCar analyst for ESPN, told the network’s SportsCenter program.
“I think that it is time that solutions are looked for and I think it is time that the drivers got together and came up with a few ideas and I sincerely hope that some progress will be made on this issue.”
-AAP