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The popular Italian, who led the American Memorial 500 before colliding with another car, has both legs amputated above the knees.
Compiled from Times wires
© St. Petersburg Times, published September 16, 2001
KLETTWITZ, Germany -- Two-time CART champion Alex Zanardi lost both of his legs after his car was hit by another traveling about 200 mph during Saturday's American Memorial 500.
Zanardi was airlifted to Klinikum Berlin-Marzahn Hospital, where both legs were amputated above the knees in a three-hour surgery, CART doctor Steve Olvey said. The 34-year-old Italian also had several small fractures of his pelvis that didn't require surgery and a moderately severe concussion, though a CT scan of his head was normal.
He was in critical but stable condition in intensive care and is expected to remain there for several days, Olvey said.
Alex Tagliani's car nearly sliced Zanardi's Reynard-Honda in half. Tagliani, 28, was taken to the same hospital, where a CT scan and X-rays on his knees were negative. The Canadian was alert and awake and will remain in the hospital for 24 to 48 hours, Olvey said.
"It was a terrible accident and all we can do at the moment is pray. It just breaks my heart," driver Adrian Fernandez said.
Zanardi was leading with 12 laps to go when his car left pit road. As he pulled out, he appeared to accelerate too early and lose control as his car swerved across a grassy area.
The car moved into the path of Tagliani's car and they collided, scattering debris across the asphalt track.
Patrick Carpentier managed to avoid Zanardi as the Italian's car entered the track. Tagliani, Carpentier's Team Forsythe teammate, was next through. "I almost hit Zanardi," Carpentier said. "He came up the track and I went sideways and almost hit the wall to avoid him. I didn't know that Tag had hit him. I knew somebody was going to hit him because he was going up the track and we were at full speed."
Zanardi was seeking his first victory this season.
"We are devastated by the extent of Alex's injuries. But we are so very thankful that he is on his way to surviving such a tremendous impact," said Morris Nunn, Zanardi's car owner.
"All of our thoughts and prayers are with Alex and his family. He has quite a battle ahead of him, but knowing what a fighter Alex is, we're confident he'll be able to return home to be with his family and friends very soon."
Nunn said Zanardi was "breathing on his own and has no other apparent internal injuries."
Zanardi, whose given first name, Alessandro, was quickly shortened to Alex when he started racing in America, was a surprise pick to drive for Chip Ganassi in 1996 in CART. He went on to become one of CART's most high-profile drivers.
In 1993, Zanardi was hired to drive for Lotus in Formula One and earned one championship point, but his season was cut short by a crash in Belgium in which his legs and back were injured.
After a few more races for Lotus as a backup driver in 1994, Zanardi did very little racing in 1995 before Ganassi called on him.
He was an immediate star in the Champ Car series, winning rookie of the year.
He won championships in 1997 and '98, becoming one of only three back-to-back series champs.
His sense of humor and intelligence won him fans and made him a talk-show regular and a familiar face on national commercials.
In 1999 he left CART for another try at Formula One, but did not fare well with the Williams team and retired.
CART's first race in Europe was called the German 500 but was renamed to honor the terrorist victims in the United States.