Danica Patrick Sends Her Prayers to Victims of Gut-Wrenching Aerial Accident in Washington

NASCAR always stands beside victims of a disaster. The United States has been witness to several spine-chilling catastrophes in recent times. From North Carolina’s Hurricane Helene to the Californian wildfires, people have been ravaged by chaos. Popular NASCAR icon Danica Patrick was involved in supporting rescue efforts in those times.

Tragically, another such disaster occurred today for people who were airborne. The impact and lives affected are yet to be assessed. Yet Danica Patrick immediately sent her prayers on social media.

Voice of support from Danica Patrick

On what appeared to be a normal winter evening, an unfortunate disaster broke out. According to Mario Nawfal on Twitter, two aircraft collided near Washington D.C. airport. The aircraft identified were the military Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk helicopter and American Airlines Flight 5342. The passenger plane reportedly split in half after the impact. Then both aircraft fell into the Potomac River, submerging upside down. This tragic news stirred up NASCAR and IndyCar star Danica Patrick, who in her heyday, has faced many gut-wrenching car crashes herself.

Danica Patrick wasted no time in doling out words of warmth and support on Twitter. She tweeted, “I am in DC and just left the @MAHAalliance party and heard about the plane crash here. So unbelievable and so sad. Prayers for those families affected. 🙏🏼” Thankfully, the emergency crews arrived at the scene of the disaster without further ado. Mario Nawfal reported that the first responder recovered four survivors and transported them to medical care.

The responders have deployed additional rescue boats to continue search and recovery efforts at the Potomac River. Unfortunately, fatalities were also confirmed but no exact number is available yet. A US Army official stated that three soldiers were onboard the Black Hawk, with possibly no passengers. However, the passenger plane was carrying 64 people. As rescue efforts continue, former Washington Commanders quarterback Robert Griffin also sent his prayers. “Prayers up for everyone involved in the plane crash at DCA.”

Danica Patrick can relate very closely to this fatal accident. That is because she herself has scraped death once.

Coming dangerously close to a disaster

Being a race car driver is no mean feat. Over a star-studded career, Danica Patrick has accumulated many milestones. For instance, she won the Indy Japan 300 race in 2008, being the only female racer to ever win an IndyCar race. Then she picked up the 2013 Daytona 500 pole. Yet even amidst her success, Patrick has faced some nerve-racking accidents as well. Patrick finished her IndyCar career in a depressing way, as the 2018 Indianapolis 500 witnessed her get entangled in a crash. She slammed into the wall as pieces of her bright green No. 13 GoDaddy Chevrolet flew through the air.

However, an even more hair-raising accident occurred back in 2011, when Danica Patrick’s rival lost his life. During the Las Vegas Motor Speedway’s League World Championship, a 15-car pile-up unfolded right after the race was flagged off. Although Patrick narrowly scraped through the disaster, her rival Dan Wheldon could not survive the impact. She recollected the harrowing incident in 2023: “My very last race in Las Vegas when I was full time in IndyCar before I went to NASCAR, Dan Wheldon was killed on lap 11. And I was almost part of it… It was like a movie scene. There were just chunks of bodywork on fire, there were just cars everywhere.”

Danica Patrick understands the consequences that a car crash or a plane crash can have on people. Like her, our thoughts and prayers also go out to the victims of this unforeseen accident.