who was the race car driver who lost both of his legs
Alex Zanardi In his most competitive race of 2001, the 2001 American Memorial, he suffered a violent accident at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz on 15 September. Zanardi started from the back of the grid and was gaining ground on his rivals. The crash occurred while Zanardi was leading the race in the closing laps. After a late pit stop, Zanardi was attempting to merge back onto the track when he accelerated abruptly and spun into the path of Patrick Carpentier. Carpentier was able to avoid him, but Alex Tagliani, who was just behind Carpentier at the time, could not and Zanardi's car was impacted from the side, behind the front wheel, severing the nose of the car.[10] Zanardi lost both legs (one at the thigh and one at the knee) in the impact and nearly three-quarters of his blood volume, though rapid medical intervention saved his life. Further portions of his legs were amputated during three hours of surgery to clean and facilitate closing the wounds.[11] This was the end of his open-wheel racing career.