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WASHINGTON. — British IndyCar driver Justin Wilson died on Monday after suffering a severe head injury during a wreck in the closing laps of a race the previous day at Pocono Raceway in Pennsylvania, IndyCar officials said.

He was 37.

Wilson, a former Formula One driver and seven-time winner in IndyCar racing, had been in critical condition in a coma at a hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania, before his death.

“This is a monumentally sad day for IndyCar and the motor-sports community as a whole,” Mark Miles, chief executive officer of Hulman & Co, the parent 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,” Miles added. Wilson’s family said in a statement that he was a “loving father and devoted husband, as well as a highly competitive racing driver who was respected by his peers”.

Wilson was the first IndyCar driver to die following a race accident since fellow Briton, Dan Wheldon, was killed in a fiery crash in Las Vegas in October 2011. — Reuters.