Yesterday, James Hinchcliffe had a massive crash during practice for the Indy 500. He was taken to the hospital and had surgery on his leg. IndyCar described his condition as “stable.” But now Racer reports that he actually had the suspension go through his leg and into his pelvis, and the blood loss posed an immediate risk to his life.
What appears to have happened is a suspension failure in the Dallara-Honda IndyCar that Hinch was driving. He went straight into the wall at turn three at IMS, spun down the track, half flipped, and ended up on his wheels.
When this happened, Racer reports that the damage to the car and to Hinch became greater than we initially thought:
In the impact, which flattened the right side of the chassis, one of the suspension wishbones penetrated the Dallara safety cell, and subsequently caused the majority of the physical damage Hinchcliffe received. RACER has confirmed through multiple sources that Hinchcliffe had the steel wishbone enter and exit his right leg, then enter his upper left thigh, and continue into his pelvic region, where it came to a stop. The suspension component pinned the 28-year-old in the car, leading the safety team to cut the wishbone from the chassis to allow Hinchcliffe’s extraction.
Unreal.
What saved his life was the amazing work of IndyCar’s Holmatro safety team, who were on the scene within seconds after the crash. They safely got him out of the car and into the ambulance, where they immediately attended to the profuse bleeding.
A friend of Hinch’s told Racer that he will likely be done racing for the year, but the important thing is that his life was saved by the incredible IndyCar safety team.
Hinch is still in the ICU in stable condition, where he is resting comfortably. Our best wishes to get well soon.
Contact the author at travis@jalopnik.com.