Dan Wheldon Killed in Las Vegas Crash

St. Petersburg resident Dan Wheldon was killed in a 15-car pileup Sunday afternoon at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, according to officials with the IZOD IndyCar Series. 

"IndyCar is very sad to announce that Dan Wheldon has passed away from unsurvivable injuries," IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard said Sunday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with his family today."

After the crash, the race was ended and drivers honored Wheldon with a five-lap salute, according to IndyCar's official Twitter account.

Wheldon stormed the racing world in 2005, the same year he moved to Old Northeast. The then 26-year-old won the Honda Grand Prix, the Indy 500 and four other races en route to winning the Indy Car Championship.

St. Petersburg honored the driver this year .

“Being born and raised in England … it’s bleak, it’s dreary. The community certainly don’t embrace me like you guys,” Wheldon told a crowd at that day. “This is paradise for me, this is absolute paradise.”

Wheldon is survived by his wife, Susie, and their two sons, Oliver and Sebastian. The couple lived in a Spanish-style waterfront house on Snell Isle. His wife and oldest son were at his side as in June.

"It's a tremendous blow for this sport and his adopted city," Mayor Bill Foster told the St. Petersburg Times on Sunday. "All I can think about is his wife and children at this time. As a community, we're just going to lift his family up and make sure they're supported."

Wheldon's presence in St. Pete seemed to inspire other elite drivers to move here. Martin Plowman, another British Indy car driver, re-located to the Old Northeast. In an interview last year, he said Wheldon was "a geat help" to him. Young Indy car driver Shannon McIntosh also recently moved to St. Pete, buying a place downtown.

You can find a full report and video of the crash at The Huffington Post.