Retired NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his family were taken to a hospital for evaluation today after their plane crashed at an airport in Tennessee. Earnhardt Jr.’s sister Kelley confirmed the news and added that everyone on board was “safe.”
A manager at Elizabethton Airport told WJHL that the private plane ran off the end of the runway and caught fire. The town fire chief Barry Carrier confirmed to reporters that the plane did belong to Earnhardt Jr., and that his wife and child were on board at the time of the crash along with two pilots and a dog. WJHL reports that Earnhardt Jr.’s injuries were described as “cuts and abrasions.”
WCYB shared video of Dale Jr. getting treated for his injuries at the site of the crash.
We’ll update this post with more information as it becomes available.
Update (10:20 p.m. EDT): NBC Sports has released the following statement per ESPN.
“We’re incredibly grateful that Dale, his wife Amy, daughter Isla, and the two pilots are safe following today’s accident,” NBC Sports said in a statement. “After being discharged from the hospital, we communicated with Dale and his team, and we’re all in agreement that he should take this weekend off to be with his family.
“We look forward to having him back in the booth next month at Darlington.”