
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, July 13, 1993                   TAG: 9307130247
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BIRMINGHAM, ALA.                                LENGTH: Short

NASCAR DRIVER CRITICAL

NASCAR driver Davey Allison was in very critical condition Monday night with a head injury after his helicopter crashed on the infield at Talladega Superspeedway.

Allison, 32, underwent surgery to relieve pressure on his brain and was to be transferred to the neurological intensive care unit, said David Smitherman, a spokesman at Carraway Methodist Medical Center in Birmingham.

Allison also injured a lung and broke his pelvis when the helicopter, which also carried veteran driver Red Farmer, went down near the garage area about 4 p.m. Farmer's injuries were not life-threatening, Smitherman said.

"The next 24 to 48 hours are going to very critical for [Allison]," Smitherman said.

Smitherman said Allison suffered an "acute subdural hematoma," a severe, deep bruise of the brain.

Farmer, who won his first race in 1949 and has more than 700 victories on other circuits, broke a rib, a collarbone and his nose, said Smitherman. He said Farmer was critical but stable and expected to recover.

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

The Federal Aviation Administration had a team of investigators on the scene trying to determine the cause of the crash.

Keywords:
AUTO RACING

by CNB