Kyle Kirkwood's car flips, tire flies toward crowd in major crash at Indianapolis 500

It was a scary scene in the final laps of the Indianapolis 500.

With less than 20 laps to go at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Felix Rosenqvist hit the outside wall before spinning back onto track and slamming into Kyle Kirkwood, who lost a back tire and went for a scary crash. Kirkwood then went upside down before his car came to screeching stop on the track.

Not only was it a scary scene on the track, but the tire from Kirkwood's car flew over the wall and toward the crowd in a moment that could've been catastrophic for spectators near the crash.

INDY 500 LIVE UPDATES: Race red-flagged with 15 laps remaining after scary crash

Kyle Kirkwood gives thumbs up

Safety workers quickly emerged and were able to lift Kirkwood's car and help the driver climb from the car. Kirkwood gave the thumbs up to the emergency crew and waved to the crowd before taken to infield care center to be checked out.

Kyle Kirkwood's tire flies into the crowd

The tire from Kirkwood's car flew toward hitting spectators sitting in the stands. Replays showed the tire miss the crowd and fall in between the bleachers at the racetrack.

A Twitter post indicated a car in the parking lot was hit by the loose tire, as grounds workers were around the hit car. The broadcast also showed staff on hand near the hit car.

IndyCar confirmed one person was transported to the infield care center after being struck by debris during the crash. They were checked and released.

Another crash with a few laps to go

After the race resumed following Rosenqvist and Kirkwood's crash, the green flag was in place for only a brief moment.

Pato O'Ward, who was in the lead with eight laps remaining, tried to make an aggressive move that resulted in him skiing up the track and into the safe barrier.

Agustin Canapino, who hit the back of O'Ward's car, and Simon Pagenaud were caught up in the aftermath as race control threw the red flag again with six laps remaining.

The story of the last spectator death at the Indy 500

Karen Kurtenbach and her family used to annually attend the Indianapolis 500, but on the third turn of the 130th lap of the 1987 race, a crash resulted in a tire going over the catch fence, into the grandstands and hitting her husband, Lyle.

"It took one instant," Karen Kurtenbach told IndyStar, part of the USA TODAY Network, in 2018. "You look up, it’s coming toward you. We were in the process of ducking, and he didn’t duck enough. It was instantaneous.

"He fell right on my lap … it hit him, and he fell right on my lap. I was glad he didn’t fall over the balcony."

At the time, Kurtenbach’s death was the first spectator fatality at the speedway in nearly three decades.

Contributing: Zak Keefer, IndyStar

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Indy 500 crash: Kyle Kirkwood's car flips, tire flies toward crowd