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IndyCar driver undergoes spinal surgery after horror crash

IndyCar rookie Robert Wickens will undergo spinal surgery after a horrific crash left him with serious injuries.

The driver was rushed to hospital after the terrifying incident, which happened on the same track where a fellow driver died in 2015.

IndyCar said in a statement the 29-year-old Canadian driver was scheduled for surgery on Monday night in an Allentown hospital.

He was airlifted there after a high-impact crash in the opening laps of Sunday’s race.

Wickens has injuries to his lower extremities, right arm and spine and a pulmonary contusion.

IndyCar rookie driver Robert Wickens will undergo spinal surgery after a horrific crash. Pic: Getty/NBC
IndyCar rookie driver Robert Wickens will undergo spinal surgery after a horrific crash. Pic: Getty/NBC

The Canadian was attempting to pass Ryan Hunter-Reay when the two cars slightly touched.

That caused Hunter-Reay’s car to careen into the wall and Wickens’ car was pulled along for the ride.

Once Wickens’ car soared over Hunter-Reay’s and hit the fence, it spun round and round like a top.

The fencing was shredded and Wickens’ car was reduced to just the tub, which came to a rest on the track along an interior wall.

Medical workers calmly attended to Wickens, who was taken to an ambulance before he was transported to the helicopter.

Alexander Rossi won the race and said it was ”tough to celebrate” with Wickens in the hospital.

with AAP.