Dan Wheldon
Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy confirmed the cause of death of IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon was blunt head trauma after he died in the blazing 15-car wreck that took place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the Indy 300 race. Wikimedia Commons

IndyCar racer Dan Wheldon died of severe head injuries.

Clark County Coroner Michael Murphy confirmed the cause of death of IndyCar driver Dan Wheldon was blunt head trauma after he died in the blazing 15-car wreck that took place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway during the Indy 300 race.

Murphy tells the Associated Press that an autopsy Monday found the 33-year-old two-time Indianapolis 500 winner died of head injuries at the Las Vegas hospital where he was taken after Sunday's crash. Murphy ruled the cause an accident.

Wheldon was pronounced dead at 1:54 p.m. Sunday at University Medical Center in Las Vegas.

The race was called off after Wheldon's death.

The 15-car pile up was caught on video when his car flew over another on lap 13 and smashed into the wall just outside turn two in the Las Vegas Indy 300, the final race of the IndayCar season.

Wheldon was set to claim a $5 million dollar bonus that was part of a league promotion for drivers who didn't compete full-time in the series this year if he won Sunday's race. The Emberton, England driver was the only driver to accept that challenge. The race in Las Vegas was only his third IndyCar race this year.

Drivers were told of Wheldon's death in a closed-door meeting, according to IndyCar spokeswoman Denise Abbott, about two hours after the fiery, smoky crash that many drivers said was the worst they had ever seen. Wheldon was taken to the hospital by helicopter.