Sean Edwards
British driver Sean Edwards celebrates his victory in the Porsche Supercup race in Monaco May 26, 2013. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier (MONACO - Tags: SPORT MOTORSPORT)

Racing driver Sean Edwards was killed instantly in a terrifying crash at Queensland Raceway in Australia. Edwards was sitting in the passenger seat as a driving instructor in a 996 Porsche 911 GT3 car driven by 20-year-old Will Holzheimer. Holzheimer lost control of the Porsche and struck a tire barrier at about 210 km/h, or 130 mph. 26-year-old Sean Edwards was killed instantly.

According to Queensland Raceway chief executive officer John Tetley, the incident occurred at 11:30 a.m., Tuesday morning. The Porsche went striaght off the corner at the final turn and crashed through the tire barriers before impacting the cement wall. The Porsche 911 GT3 instantly caught fire. Tetley praised the emergency crew members for their valiant efforts to save Will Holzheimer, who were trapped in the wreck.

"(They) got into Fearless, our fire truck, and managed to pull the car from the burning tyres,'' said Tetley. "We have a trauma paramedic on site and he was one of the first people to rush to the accident. We probably used about 35 to 40 fire extinguishers and a 50kg fire bomb to put out the tyres.''

The Porsche GT3 crumpled severely from the crash and was reduced to half of its original length. Holzheimer's lower body was pinned in the wreckage. Firemen took nearly three hours to cut him free. "They had to cut the car in half and pull it apart piece by piece to get to the driver. Emergency services saved his life," explained Tetley.

Will Holzheimer suffered extensive injuries and was eventually airlifted to Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital. "He is awake and is aware of what's going on around him, but has extensive injuries to deal with," said Ipswich police Inspector David Preston.

Unfortunately, the emergency team could not do anything for racing driver Sean Edwards. The son of former Formula 1 racing driver Guy Edwards, Sean Edwards recently played his father in Ron Howard's drama "Rush." Edwards Senior famously pulled Niki Lauda from his burning car after his Nurburgring crash at the 1976 German Grand Prix.

Sean Edwards was a successful racing driver himeself, having won this year's VLN 24 Hours of Nurburgring in the Team Black Falcon Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3. Sean Edwards was also the points leader in the Porsche Supercup championship as well.

"The tragedy of it is he was leading the Supercup championship after such strong performances through the middle of the year. It looked like he was going to win," said fellow racing driver Allan McNish. "Also, having won the Nurburgring 24 Hours this year (with Mercedes), I would say this was probably his strongest year in racing.

"To win that, with all the German manufacturers, and the powerhouse of European motorsport outside of Formula One, then that's a big, big deal. He also won the Porsche Supercup race in Monaco this year by 20 seconds, which is unheard of in a one-make-spec championship," McNish continued. "So, overall for me, this was a breakthrough year for him. He was showing what talent he had, but had maybe never had the opportunity to actually display it."

"Apart from that, he was a guy who loved life, loved racing, loved cycling, was strong and fit. He was just a really nice young guy who was making his mark on the sport, and socially a really good guy to be around."

The Forensic Crash Unit and Workplace Health and Safety committee continue to investigate the cause of the tragic accident. Be sure to watch the video below to learn more about the crash that took Sean Edwards' life.