Actor should 'fully recover from car crash'

Actor Jason Priestley was becoming more alert and should recover fully from concussion, broken back and other injuries sustained when his race car crashed into a wall at 180 mph, doctors said today.

The former “Beverly Hills 90210” star, competing in the new Infiniti Pro Series, spun into the wall at Kentucky Speedway during practice on Sunday.

Priestley, 32, was flown to the University of Kentucky Medical Centre with a spinal fracture and a head injury, as well as a broken nose and broken bones in both feet.

Priestley was in serious but stable condition.

“Jason does not have any injury that shouldn’t fully recover,” Dr Andrew Bernard, trauma surgeon at the hospital, said today.

Priestley was breathing on his own, responding to commands and becoming more and more aware of his surroundings, doctors said.

“We have no indication from any of the scans that he’s had that he has any further damage to his head,” Indy Racing League medical director Henry Bock said earlier.

There also was no sign of paralysis, he said.

Priestley’s father, Lorne Priestley, attended the news conference but declined to answer questions. “He’s better so I’m better,” he said.

Priestley was taken off the ventilator last night and has been breathing on his own ever since, doctors said.

Bernard said the spinal fracture appeared to be stable and should not require surgery. Priestley was to be fitted with a back brace later today.

Priestley needs a few days to recover from the concussion before having surgery on his feet, doctors said.

Priestley, a native of British Columbia, became a TV heartthrob in the Fox network’s “Beverly Hills, 90210,” which ran from 1990 to 2000.

In recent years, he began focusing on auto racing and is seventh in the Infiniti Pro Series standings.

On Saturday, he qualified for a start next to pole-winner A.J. Foyt IV for Sunday’s 100-mile race.