Wickens has rods, screws placed into spine
Alex Tagliani feels Ryan HunterReay’s pain.
On Sunday, Hunter-Reay was involved in a scary crash with Canadian Robert Wickens during the ABC Supply 500 at Pocono Raceway. Wickens’ car sailed into the fence when he and Hunter-Reay made slight contact.
Wickens, of Guelph, Ont., had titanium rods and screws placed in his spine Tuesday to stabilize a fracture associated with a spinal cord injury suffered in the crash. Wickens remains in stable condition but is expected to require more surgeries to treat fractures in his lower extremities and right forearm.
Hunter-Reay was uninjured but tweeted Monday he’s having trouble letting go of the accident.
“Praying for @robertwickens,” he said. “Since the moment my car came to a stop after that horrific crash all I can think about is Robbie’s well-being.
“Thinking about Karli and their whole family. He’s as tough as they come, I know he’ll be focused on getting back on track.”
Hunter-Reay ended the tweet with an emoji of praying hands.
Tagliani was involved in a horrific crash with Alex Zanardi in 2001. The accident left Zanardi with both legs amputated above the knee and Tagliani, of Lachenaie, Que., admitted he struggled mightily getting over it. The Italian has since won three Paralympic gold medals in hand cycling.
“That was a point in my career where I almost gave up,” Tagliani said during a telephone interview Tuesday. “It caused me to rethink my desire to stay in racing.
“The next race was in England and it’s the one race in my career that I don’t even remember what happened. I don’t remember where I finished, I don’t remember what my pit strategy was. I felt as a driver I went there and raced and my mind was so full of a lot of things that I couldn’t have a clear mind to race the way my mind was before the accident.”
Tagliani said, in retrospect, he probably shouldn’t have resumed racing so quickly. But he credits Zanardi’s wife, Daniella — who told Tagliani the accident wasn’t his fault and he shouldn’t feel responsible for it — and Zanardi himself with giving the Canadian much-needed closure.
“Alex’s wife came to see me at the hospital and we communicated via Twitter,” Tagliani said. “She’s a hell of a lady, the strength she has for family is incredible but what she did for me, for my mind, was incredible.
“When Alex came to Toronto, we gave each a big hug and started talking Italian. He made me laugh by saying the advantage he had now was he was an inch taller with his prosthetic limbs. His attitude and demeanour lifted so much weight off my shoulders.”
Wickens, 29, is in his first IndyCar season after winning a championship in touring cars in Europe. He left that series this year to try IndyCar alongside childhood friend James Hinchcliffe, of Oakville, Ont.
Hinchcliffe and Wickens drive for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, and Wickens had been surprisingly competitive since his series debut. He was poised to win the season opener at St. Petersburg, Fla., before spinning in the closing laps. Wickens stood sixth in the driver’s standings before the crash.
Hinchcliffe, who also was involved in the crash at Pocono, has been medically cleared and will race Saturday at the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 in Madison, Ill., the team announced. But Wickens’ No. 6 car won’t have another driver Saturday.
Team owner Sam Schmidt was paralyzed when he crashed during a test at Walt Disney World Speedway in 2000. The accident left Schmidt a quadriplegic.