Wickens says crash left him paraplegic

Canadian IndyCar driver Robert Wickens confirmed Thursday he is paralyzed from the waist down. The 29-year-old native of Guelph, Ont., posted a note on Instagram to provide clarity on the extent of the injuries he sustained from a violent crash Aug. 19 at Pocono Raceway. “I wanted to let you know the reality of it,” the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports driver and teammate of Oakville, Ont.’s James Hinchcliffe said in the post, which shows him doing his first “slide transfer as a paraplegic.” Wickens sustained various fractures, including to his neck and spinal cord, along with a pulmonary contusion in the wreck. “I’ve never worked harder for anything in my life, and I am going to give it all I’ve got to spark those nerves in my legs,” Wickens said.