Nascar Driver Davey Allison Dies -- He Never Regained Consciousness After Helicopter Crash At Speedway

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - NASCAR driver Davey Allison died today of head injuries suffered when the helicopter he was piloting crashed at Talladega Superspeedway, hospital officials said.

A spokesman at Carraway Methodist Medical Center, David Smitherman, said Allison, 32, died at the hospital at 5 a.m. PDT. He said Allison's head injuries were massive and that the race-car driver never regained consciousness after the crash.

Allison underwent surgery last night to relieve swelling in his head. Smitherman said the NASCAR veteran also suffered lung injuries and a broken pelvis.

Relatives, including Allison's father, retired racer Bobby Allison, had been keeping a somber vigil at the hospital. Davey Allison's wife, Liz, was also on hand, but their two children - ages 3 and 1 - were with friends.

After Allison died, the family asked that his organs be donated "so others may live," Smitherman said.

Veteran racer Red Farmer, also was aboard the chopper. He was listed in critical condition, but his injuries were not life-threatening, Smitherman said. He suffered a broken rib, collarbone and nose.

An investigator from the National Transportation Safety Board was in Talladega to sort out conflicting accounts of what happened to cause the crash in the track infield.

Speedway president Mike Helton said Allison's helicopter went down while attempting to land in an area not normally used by helicopters. The chopper came to rest on its side near a chain-link fence just yards away from a garage and a media center.

"They crashed on landing. It just went out of control," Helton said."It didn't really hit anything."

The Federal Aviation Administration in Atlanta was told the helicopter was taking off when it crashed. Official V. H. Steed said: "The report we had was that he was departing and hit a fence."

Carolyn Yates, whose husband Robert owns the Ford Thunderbirds driven by Allison, said: "Red crawled out and they were trying to get Davey out, but they had to get emergency units to cut him out. The helicopter hit a fence, and it turned upside down."

A cousin of Allison's, Donnie Johnson, said Allison purchased the helicopter only three weeks ago. He and Farmer had flown from Birmingham to the track to watch racer Neil Bonnett's son David, who was testing a Busch Grand National car on the 2.66-mile tri-oval.

The crash was only the latest tragedy to strike Alabama's first family of racing.

Last year, Davey's younger brother Clifford was killed in a wreck at Michigan International Speedway.

Bobby Allison was critically injured in a 1988 crash at Pocono in Pennsylvania and had to retire as a driver. He had 84 career victories - leaving him tied for third on the Winston Cup list.

Farmer won his first race in 1949 and has more than 700 victories on various circuits. He is crew chief for Allison's Grand National team.

The crash was the second this year to hit the Winston Cup circuit. Defending champion Alan Kulwicki died with three companions in a plane crash April 1 near Bristol, Tenn.