Wilson was struck by a piece of debris that came from driver Sage Karam’s car, which spun into the wall with 18 laps remaining in the race. Impact from the crash sent pieces of the car flying into the air as approaching drivers passed by. One of the larger objects fell onto Wilson’s head. Wilson’s car then veered directly into an interior wall.

MORE: Notable sports deaths of 2015

Wilson was unconscious when he was transported by helicopter after the crash to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest in Allentown, Pa. IndyCar officials said Sunday night that he was in a coma.

“This is a monumentally sad day for IndyCar and the motorsports community as a whole,” Mark Miles, CEO of Hulman & Co., the parent company of IndyCar and Indianapolis Motor Speedway, said in a statement. “Justin’s elite ability to drive a race car was matched by his unwavering kindness, character and humility — which is what made him one of the most respected members of the paddock. As we know, the racing industry is one big family, and our efforts moving forward will be focused on rallying around Justin’s family to ensure they get the support they need during this unbelievably difficult time.”

Wilson was from Sheffield, England, and had competed in American open-wheel racing since 2004. He recorded seven career Indy car victories — the most recent in 2012 at Texas Motor Speedway — and eight pole starts in 174 races. This season he joined Andretti Autosport for the final six races.

The racing community reacted immediately to the news:

Wilson’s death is the first on-track fatality in the IndyCar series since Dan Wheldon was killed during the final race of the 2011 season at Las Vegas.

“Days like this are extremely hard on all of us,” IndyCar driver/owner Ed Carpenter told reporters, per The Associated Press. “Justin was a great professional driver and extremely good at his craft. Beyond that, he was a great guy. One of the few, if only, guys who really was a friend of everyone in the paddock. Everyone respected him for the way he carried himself.”

The AP noted that Wilson suffered a broken bone in his back during a race at Mid-Ohio in 2011. The injury forced him out of the season’s final six races, including the race in Las Vegas where Wheldon died. In 2013, Wilson suffered a broken pelvis and bruised lung at Fontana in the last race of the season.

Wilson spoke of the dangers of racing in an interview with the AP in 2012. 

“You’ve got to know the risks and work out if those risks are acceptable,” Wilson said. “To me, it’s acceptable. But I’m not going to stop trying to improve it. All the drivers, this IndyCar, we’re always trying to make it safer, but at the end of the day, it’s a race car. We’re racing hard, we’re racing IndyCars and it’s fast. When it goes wrong, it can get messy.”

Surviving are Wilson’s wife, Julia; two daughters, ages 7 and 5; his parents, Keith and Lynne; and his younger brother, Stefan, who has competed in the Verizon IndyCar and Indy Lights series.

“Justin was a loving father and devoted husband, as well as a highly competitive race car driver,” Wilson’s family said in a statement.

A trust fund has been set up for Wilson’s daughters. Donations may be sent to: Wilson Children’s Fund, c/o INDYCAR, 4551 W. 16th St., Indianapolis, IN 46222.

Omnisport’s Joe Rodgers and Brandon Schlager contributed to this report.