ZANARDI BATTLES FOR LIFE AFTER HANDBIKE ACCIDENT
Formula 1 and Indycar hero suffers serious head and brain injuries following a crash in Italy
Motorsport hero Alex Zanardi was in intensive care as Motorsport News closed for press after suffering serious injuries in a handbike accident.
The 53-year-old Italian was competing in an event in his homeland of Italy on Friday when his bike collided with a truck. He was airlifted to hospital and underwent lengthy surgery.
His surgeon said: “He [had] major facial cranial trauma, a smashed face, and a fractured frontal bone [forehead]. The numbers are good, although it remains a serious situation.”
Italian hero Alex Zanardi was battling for life as Motorsport News closed for press after a serious accident while contesting a handbike relay in Pienza last Friday.
The 53-year-old, who lost both legs in a CART race at the Lausitzring in Germany in 2001, collided with a lorry on Friday and was airlifted to hospital.
He underwent brain surgery and also measures to rebuild his skull, which had suffered multiple fractures.
His condition was reported to be serious but stable on Monday morning, where he was in hospital in Siena.
Zanardi’s surgeon Dr Giuseppe Olivieri said: “He arrived here with major facial cranial trauma, a smashed face, and a deeply fractured frontal bone [forehead]. The numbers are good, although it remains a very serious situation.
“We won’t see what his neurological state is until he wakes up – if he wakes up.
“The operation went as it should have; it was the original situation that was not good.
“What the prognosis will be tomorrow, in a week, in 15 days, I don’t know. Serious means he’s in a situation where he could die, in these cases improvements can be very small over time and worsening can be sudden.”
Zanardi claimed a gold medal in the 2012
London paralympic games in handcycling.