Crawford condition upgraded

BANGOR – The condition of a sports photographer who was severely injured when he was pinned under a crashing race car at Unity Raceway last week has been upgraded.

A spokesman at Eastern Maine Medical Center said Wednesday that John Crawford, 38, of Fairfield remained hospitalized Wednesday and that his condition had been upgraded from critical to fair.

Crawford was injured April 30 as he was photographing a race from behind a chain-link fence beyond the track’s first turn. A race car driven by Mark Dodge of Anson skidded out of control after colliding with another car. Dodge’s car became airborne, went off the track, hit a dirt embankment and continued through the fence.

Crawford was pinned under the car and suffered injuries to his head and chest. At the time of the crash, Crawford was filming in a restricted area that was not open to spectators. That area has been put off limits since the accident.

Crawford is the producer of Mainley Motorsports, a regional cable television program covering the racing scene. He also managed Unity Raceway for three years at the beginning of the decade.