Donovan Williams, who works as a tire carrier for Spire Motorsports’ No. 7 Chevrolet and is part of the Hendrick Motorsports athletics department, was involved in a freak accident during the Dover race weekend.
A heavy pit cart rolled down a hill during All-Star Race Weekend, and NASCAR on FOX reporter Amanda Busick was directly in its path. Williams put himself between her and the cart, and had to be hospitalized for minor injuries. Busick later visited him at the hospital and thanked him for what he did.
Now, HMS has awarded Williams the ‘Hendrick Motorsports Spirit Award’ this week, which is reserved for extraordinary effort, impact, and results that are exceptional.
“When trouble came about, Donovan Williams stepped up,” a post from the team read. “Williams, a member of the Hendrick Motorsports athletics department, was awarded the Hendrick Motorsports Spirit Award this week. At Dover Motor Speedway, Williams’ quick thinking and personal sacrifice saved FOX Sports pit road reporter Amanda Busick from serious injury when a pit cart’s brakes failed and quickly approached her. Today, we honor Donovan and his heroic actions.”
HMS Athletic Director Evan Kureczka said of Williams’ heroic actions: “He went ahead and put his life at risk to help someone else that could’ve been injured severely. Not everybody in that time is going to necessarily do that. You may be more worried about yourself, your family but Donovan took the time to worry about a person he didn’t even know at the time, and he wanted to make sure she was going to be OK.”
Williams and Busick recall what happened
Busick was there and presented him with the award, crediting him with potentially saving her life.
“Honestly, it’s the longest half-second of your life because literally, your brain is looking for any possible exit strategy,” said Busick. “I had a tire wall on one side of me, I had other things on the left side – there was nowhere to go. And I see Donovan fighting as hard as he can but that pit box with speed, there was nothing he could do. He was trying to hold it, get me out of the way, we collide and slid probably five-to-10 feet and come to a stop. Donovan is on top of me, the pit box is on top of him and then you try to slow down and take inventory of yourself – am I OK?
“Then, I’ll never forget, above me on my right side is [Spire crew chief] Brian Pattie and he reaches down and pulls me out of the carnage and then you’re just sitting there confused. And that’s when I came to and remembered that I’m on the phone with my mom, and so then I’m also searching for my phone because I know she’s terrified. But the whole thing, it’s so fast but so slow at the same point. I guess that’s what adrenaline is but I’m good for my one near-death experience, so we can move on from those.”
Williams was not told ahead of time, even as the Spirit Award was being announced, believing it was going to go to a member of the team with more experience or someone who had done more for the community. He later called the incident “one of the scariest moments for myself,” adding: “…and I know the shock that Amanda was probably in as well. When it initially happened, I was just lying there, hearing the comments around me. ‘There’s a lot of blood, I see bone.’ I didn’t know what it could’ve been.
“Once I was able to get moving and realize I would be OK, it was a relief. But just the entire process, the entire event has been surreal because my intention was never to be a hero. I was just reacting in a sticky situation, and I can’t take too much credit. I thank God it wasn’t worse for anybody.”
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