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LONDON (AP) -- Colin McRae, whose fascination with cars grew into an obsession that led him to 25 wins in a World Rally Championship career, was killed in a helicopter crash along with his 5-year-old son and two others, police said Sunday. He was 39.
McRae was piloting the helicopter, which he owned and was licensed to fly, when it crashed Saturday in a wooded area near his home.
McRae raced in the World Rally Championship from 1987 until 2004, becoming champion in 1995. He also took part in the Paris to Dakar rally, the Le Mans 24 hour race, the Race of Champions and the X Games.
McRae also lent his name to a best-selling computer game, but it was his flamboyant racing style that earned fans in all types of motorsport and lifted the profile of rallying in Britain.
"He was really daring, always pushing it further," Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen said. "I always liked his attitude. It was maximum attack always and he had some big rolls sometimes. Every time he had one, though it was like: 'Oh well, it's just a roll,' and he just carried on."
Two other people also died in the crash -- 6-year-old Ben Porcelli and 37-year-old Graeme Duncan. The aircraft was badly burned, making it impossible for police to immediately identify the occupants.
McRae was piloting the helicopter, which he owned and was licensed to fly, when it crashed Saturday in a wooded area near his home.
McRae raced in the World Rally Championship from 1987 until 2004, becoming champion in 1995. He also took part in the Paris to Dakar rally, the Le Mans 24 hour race, the Race of Champions and the X Games.
McRae also lent his name to a best-selling computer game, but it was his flamboyant racing style that earned fans in all types of motorsport and lifted the profile of rallying in Britain.
"He was really daring, always pushing it further," Formula One driver Heikki Kovalainen said. "I always liked his attitude. It was maximum attack always and he had some big rolls sometimes. Every time he had one, though it was like: 'Oh well, it's just a roll,' and he just carried on."
Two other people also died in the crash -- 6-year-old Ben Porcelli and 37-year-old Graeme Duncan. The aircraft was badly burned, making it impossible for police to immediately identify the occupants.