Dan Wheldon, the IndyCar racer who died of head injuries on Oct. 16 from a 15-car pile-up at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway was honored on Saturday, at a funeral that was held in his adopted hometown of St Petersburg, Fla.
Hundreds of people gathered to attend the funeral of the 33-year-old, which took place at 10 a.m. at the First Presbyterian Church. The funeral will be followed by a public memorial, to be held at 4 p.m. on Sunday, at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
“Though we won't be able to fit everyone inside, I know that Dan would have wanted the community to share in the celebration of his life and to grieve his passing," Susie Wheldon, Dan’s wife, said in a statement.
The Buckinghamshire-born, two-time Indy 500 race winner died when his car slammed into another and catapulted him into a catch fence, cockpit-first, where it burst into flames. He was airlifted to the University Medical Center in Las Vegas and was declared dead at 1:54 p.m.
The race was called off due to Wheldon's death. However, the drivers remained on track and drove a five-lap salute in his honor. The three other drivers who were injured in the crash were released from the hospital.
Wheldon leaves behind his wife and two sons - Sebastian, 2, and Oliver, 7 months.
Mourners for IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon hug outside the First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg during a funeral service in St. Petersburg, Florida October 22, 2011.
Friends of IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon look on as his casket is loaded into a hearse outside the First Presbyterian Church of St. Petersburg during a funeral service in St. Petersburg, Florida October 22, 2011.
Pallbearers, including IndyCar drivers Tony Kanaan (L), Scott Dixon (third L) and Dario Franchitti (4th R) carry the casket of fellow driver Dan Wheldon as they escort Susie Wheldon (3rd R), Clive Wheldon and Ashley Wheldon (R) from the church during a funeral service in St. Petersburg, Florida, October 22, 2011.
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