Actor Jason Priestley's race car crashed head-on into a wall at nearly 180 mph Sunday at the Kentucky Speedway in Sparta, Kentucky, breaking his back and leaving him in serious condition with a concussion and other injuries.
The former BEVERLY HILLS, 90210 television star was on a respirator to keep him sedated, but he was breathing on his own and was alert, Indy Racing League medical director Henry Bock said.
Priestley was flown to the U. of Kentucky Medical Center with a spinal fracture in the middle of his back and a closed head injury, as well as a broken nose and broken bones in both feet, Bock said.
"At this time, there's no indication there's any other injury to the head (besides a concussion)," Bock said. "His vital signs are stable. ... He has his eyes open, he looks around and will follow commands."
Bock said there was no sign of paralysis and that tests on Priestley would continue probably through the night. He would not speculate on how long his recovery would take.
Priestley, 32, crashed coming out of the second turn in the final practice for the Kentucky 100, an Infiniti Pro Series race.
"He got sideways and he corrected and then shot off the track," said former Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk, whose son, Arie Jr., competes with Priestley.
"He turned right into the wall, and his first impact was basically head-on," Luyendyk said. "I saw it from the top of the roof. What I'm thinking is that's really the one big hit that he took that might have hurt him."
Luyendyk said Priestley appeared to have driven through "oil-dry," an absorbent material that had been spread on part of the track about 10 minutes earlier to soak up oil from another car. All the drivers had been warned to avoid it.
Priestley began racing in 1991 in the California Rally Series and won his first race at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in 1998.
Last season, he was a broadcast analyst for the IRL series, and this year, he joined the Kelley Racing team in the new Infiniti Pro Series, a developmental circuit with open-wheel cars that are similar but smaller and less powerful than the IRL cars.
After a strong qualifying run Saturday in which he finished second, Priestley had said that confidence was a key to racing.
"With these cars, so much of it is just being able to keep your foot in it and understand that the car actually will hold the road," he said.
"He's shown he's a good racer," driver Ed Carpenter said after the crash. "It's sad anytime one of our competitors gets hurt."
Priestley has been in crashes before. In April, he crashed a powerboat during a race in Miami, leaving one crew member with cracked ribs. In 1995, he crashed into a ditch during the Michelin SCCA Pro Rally in Olympia, Wash., but recovered to finish the race.
Last year, he completed an alcohol counseling program he was ordered to attend when he pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor DUI charge stemming from a December 1999 car crash in the Hollywood Hills. The accident totaled Priestley's Porsche and broke a friend's arm.
Priestley, a native of British Columbia, starred with Luke Perry, Shannen Doherty and Jennie Garth in the Fox network's BEVERLY HILLS, 90210, which ran from 1990 to 2000.
He was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and produced and directed a number of documentaries, television dramas, cable network specials and music videos. His film credits include EYE OF THE BEHOLDER, CALENDAR GIRL and LOVE AND DEATH ON LONG ISLAND. (As reported by the Associated Press)
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