Italian Alex Zanardi, the Formula One driver and former champ of the "Kart" series who was amputated in a car race accident twenty years ago before becoming a prominent Paralympic hero, is in hospital in "a very serious condition" after colliding with a truck Friday while participating in a manual push bike race In Italy.
Zanardi was participating in one of the stages of the "Obitievo Tricolori" wildcard in Tuscany, when he lost control of his bike on a sharp turn and crossed to the path of a large truck near Montalcino.
The fifty-third daughter was airlifted to a hospital near Siena, where he underwent emergency surgery to his head and face, before being transferred to intensive care.
"In view of the severe head injury, neurosurgery and facial intervention started shortly after 7 pm and ended before 10 pm," the hospital said in a statement. "The patient was then transferred to intensive care. His condition is very serious."
According to Ansa and Agi, Zanardi remained in a stable condition overnight.
In turn, the Italian Paralympic team coach Mario Valentini revealed to the newspaper "Corriere della Sera": "Alex lost control of his bike, rolled twice and crashed into a truck locomotive. The collision was terrible."
Repubblica newspaper indicated that Zanardi remained aware until the ambulance arrived and that he was breathing on his own.
"It took twenty minutes until the medical staff arrived. It took some time to load. His wife helped. He was speaking after the accident," Valentini added in another interview.
"It was a sunny day and everyone was happy. We were 20 kilometers from (the arrival line) Montalcino. The truck didn't make a mistake. Alex made the mistake," he said, adding that his helmet fell during the accident.
Zanardi won the American Kart championship title before amputating his legs due to an accident at the Lausitzring circuit in Germany in 2001.
Four golds and two Paralympic silvers in London 2012 and Rio 2016 in the category of hand bikes were awarded ten world titles.