Indy 500 champion Dan Wheldon dies after crash

British IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon has died after a horrific 15-car crash at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday which left the motor sports world in shock.

The 33-year-old, a two-times winner of the Indy 500, was involved in a multi-car accident 13 laps into the Las Vegas Indy 300 which sent his vehicle flying and left wreckage and debris across the track.

Wheldon's car flew over another and caught part of the catch fence just past the apex of turn two.

The incident left Townsend Bell's car upside down and smoldering cars strewn along the track.

Image: Drivers, including Dan Wheldon (77, in air at left), crash during a wreck that involved 15 cars during the IndyCar Series' Las Vegas Indy 300 auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011. Wheldon died following the crash.

Text: Reuters
Images: AP