49 replies to this topic

[narain fan]

Matta in a critical condition after crash


  


Former F1 driver Cristiano da Matta is in a critical condition in hospital after hitting a deer while testing his Champ Car.

The Brazilian, who drove for Toyota in Formula One for two seasons, collided with the animal in testing at Elkhart Lake.

He was air-lifted to hospital in Neenah, Wisconsin, where he underwent emergency surgery to remove a blood clot from his brain.

Champ Car's medical director Chris Pinderski said: "After arriving at Theda Clark Medical Center, a head CT scan showed Cristiano had suffered a subdural hematoma.

"He was urgently taken to the operating room for surgical removal of the hematoma and is now being observed in the intensive care unit."

Da Matta's RuSport team have withdrawn his team-mate, Yorkshireman Justin Wilson, from the remainder of the test
pf1

Edited by narain fan, 04 August 2006 - 09:47 AM.

[Wez]

Shame yeah, I just read this on Pf1.
I wish him all the best, and hope he comes through ok.

[mikathegreat2]

Dats gotta hurt   !

[Jenson_Rules]

yeh m8 it lookd fckn painful!

[tifosi too!]

Poor guy.Lets hope there is no permanent damage and he gets back to racing.

[Jenson_Rules]

Oh deer, it really is a shame.

Seriously though I hope hes ok and he recovers well enough to get back to racing!

[narain fan]

tifosi too!, on Aug 4 2006, 07:12 PM, said:

Poor guy.Lets hope there is no permanent damage and he gets back to racing.

he was "air lifted to  a nearby hospital...
and emergency surgery was performed.....the team has since  withdrawn Wilson's car from the test and doctors are monitoring his condition for the next 24 critical hours to see if the swelling in the brain subsides,he is in the ICU doesnt soung great

[monza gorilla]

Here's wishing him a full recovery.

[Kennye]

Here is the story from Sports Illustrated website.
http://sportsillustr...ex.html?cnn=yes
The surgery was to remove a ruptured blood vessel in his head, they said he was unconscious when removed from the car and as of last night, still unconscious.
This is from SPEEDTV posted last night.
http://www.speedtv.c...champcar/30253/

I have not seen any updates from today.

We can only pray that he recovers, according to eyewitness accounts, he hit the deer in turn 6 on the right front and it came into the c#ckpit. He drove into the tire wall at full throttle.

[raikkonen_dominates]

How can they let a ****ing deer in the race track?
Let's hope he heals well.

[Autumnpuma]

The damned track is right in the middle of the woods with very little to separate the track from the wildlife. I'm going to do more reading on this, but I'm p!ssed as hell at Elkhart Lake for this avoidable situation.

My thoughts are with DaMatta. This isn't how a racer should die.

[silvermachine]

Lets Pray for his life..
my thoughts are with him and his family.

[Taku]

this is terrible news i hope he comes out of the coma soon...

[irishfemalefan]

This is really sad    Ive been trying to find an update on his condition on the net but there doesnt seem to be any more word.

Heres hoping he pulls through it.

[Halfie]

He's a great driver, did a lot better in Champ Cars, he didnt really fit into F1 it seemed, although had some good races!  Heres hoping he recovers fully...

I hope he does...

[nojvnof1]

Hopefully there is no permanent damage and he makes a full recovery.

[irishfemalefan]

seems he's stablised now at least

"Da Matta stable after major crash  

Cristiano da Matta's condition had "stabilised" but the Champ Car driver remained in intensive care three days after a crash in testing.
Brazilian Da Matta, 32, still had swelling around his brain on Saturday following surgery to remove a ruptured blood vessel in his head.

The former Toyota F1 driver was rushed to hospital after colliding with a deer at the Road America track in Wisconsin.

His condition has stabilised, but he will remain under heavy sedation as his recovery process continues

He required emergency surgery to treat a subdural hematoma and was airlifted to the Neenah, Wisconsin, hospital for treatment.

"Repeat CT scans show no further bleeding, but Cristiano does have some cerebral edema, which is swelling of the brain itself," said Chris Pinderski, the Champ Car director of medical affairs.

"This is common with significant head injuries and was expected in this situation.

"His condition has stabilised, but he will remain under heavy sedation as his recovery process continues."




hopefully now he will make a full recovery

[aussief1]

Glad to hear that Da Matta is now stable.

Lets hope that he can pull through and make a full recovery.

[Wez]

raikkonen_dominates, on Aug 4 2006, 09:21 PM, said:

How can they let a ****ing deer in the race track?
Let's hope he heals well.

I remember the Ferrari hitting a deer in the 80s...

aussief1, on Aug 7 2006, 07:44 AM, said:

Glad to hear that Da Matta is now stable.

Lets hope that he can pull through and make a full recovery.

Yes!

[Autumnpuma]

It's so damned crazy! The track can afford to put up decent walls to prevent this sort of thing. This track is one of America's best and this problem shouldn't have happened.

I am also glad he's doing better. He should recover (knock on wood).

[Yoda McFly]

Autumnpuma, on Aug 7 2006, 08:42 PM, said:

It's so damned crazy! The track can afford to put up decent walls to prevent this sort of thing. This track is one of America's best and this problem shouldn't have happened.

I am also glad he's doing better. He should recover (knock on wood).

Note the date and time ... I am officially taking issue with Mike on this one ...

Uncontrolled deer are pests.  Wisconsin has some of the most free bag limits in this country on deer, because they have a serious overpopulation problem.  RA actually has a permanent license to shoot any and all deer found on the property, irregardless of season, bag limits, etc.  RA and the state have taken driver safety there very seriously.

The track is surrounded by 8'+ safety fencing, which has been deemed more than enough to stop exploding car debris; unfortunately, 8' is nothing for a healthy adult deer.

What is odd (to me, anyway) is that the critter wasn't scared off by the noise.  Alternately, he may have found a hole in the fence, or leapt it, tried to bed down, then been spooked by the noise.

From all I can find, RA did (and do) the best they can to keep the wildlife off of the track; this is that ever-popular act of $GENERIC_DIETY.  Or, Lady Luck is a whore.

At least we can point out that safety standards as far as the car and driver equipment go have advanced in the last 30 years ... (Tom Pryce and Jansen Van Vuuren, anyone?)  (I didn't see it mentioned in this thread, but I've heard reports of Cris' helmet being split, and the roll hoop (strongest part of the car) being torn off.  Remember that an adult whitetail deer can get north of 200 pounds live weight ...

Here's to a speedy and complete recovery for "Shorty."

[Autumnpuma]

The deer likely got in through a man-made cut in the fencing somewhere, cut by a few 'undocumented' race fans who don't really wanna pay for a ticket...that's my theory.

Look, I could care less about what fencing they currently have. Fix it so this doesn't happen again.

Colorado builds fencing on their highways that keeps the wildlife from wandering onto the roads. It isn't fullproof because they insist on using chain-link of some sort. Where they use a solid brick barrier (think freeway soundwalls) the wildlife are strangely absent from the roads.

Clear off a wider area around the track and ring it with a cement wall with chain link topping it. Then build your run-off barrier inside that larger, cleared off area. This would provide double protection against this. Wez mentioned that this has happened before....is that true?

[aussief1]

We have the same sort of problem here in Australia with Kangaroo's getting onto the track during V8 Supercar races. I know that two years ago Steven Richards hit a Kangaroo at Bathurst.

A little bit better than hitting an animal in a open c#ckpit single seater I know, but still a Supercar still gets up to 300Kph down Conrod Straight at Bathurst, and I certainly would'nt want to hit anything at that speed.

For the record I'm almost certain that at Bathurst they have done nothing to prevent this from happening again. I will be there for the race in 8 weeks so I will see for myself how easy / hard it is for wildlife to get on to the track.

Sadly it takes this sort of thing to happen before anyone sits up and takes notice.

[narain fan]

Da Matta future is still unknown as recovery takes time
Racing series   CHAMPCAR F1
Date 2006-08-11
By Motorsport.com staff writers
Cristiano da Matta's future continues to be unknown at this time as the Brazilian racer continues to fight for his life after slamming into a deer during the Champ Car World Series Open Test at the Road America road course on Thursday, August 3rd.
No one who hits a deer can easily walk away from the impact nor will their vehicle -- even an SUV can be totaled by the large animal. In da Matta's case he was on a closed racing circuit traveling at speeds close to 180mph when he and the deer collided. And he was in an open wheel-racing machine. Not much protection for "Shorty" -- his nickname given to him due to his stature.
The ace open wheel racer has had an up and down career in both Champ Car (formerly CART) and Formula One. Yet, in his racing career, he has met challenges, won races and championships and given 100 percent. Now he remains in a hospital while others give 100 percent to save his life.
Today in Denver the Champ Car Medical Director, Dr. Chris Pinderski, and RuSPORT spokesman Gary Mason held a press conference to discuss what happened, what steps were taken and the continuation of his medical care.
"Cristiano was unconscious from the moment of impact and remained unconscious throughout the extrication. I was on the site as well and secured the airway," explained Pinderski. "We carry specific airway management tools on the safety trucks and ambulances. However in this case Cristiano needed a neurological intervention on an emergency basis."
Da Matta was airlifted immediately to the Theda Clark Medical Center where a cat scan was performed to check for all injuries including the known factor of the serious head injury. Emergency surgery was performed by the medical center's neurosurgeon Dr. Randall R. Johnson to remove the subdural hematoma (bleeding of the brain). The surgery was a success as a further CT scans showed no future bleeding and as usual per a serious head injury, there was swelling of the brain.
"These types of injuries, there is typically a brain injury underneath it and the swelling is expected," Pinderski added. "But it is receding. They sedated (da Matta) to limit his brain activity. This morning, he is no longer under sedation."
As for his progress, that is the unknown factor at this time. As Pinderski commented: "He has been making some progress every day and he is making purposeful movements -- moves arm when pinched but he is not responding to spoken commands. His future is still unknown at this point."
RuSPORT has remained by their driver's side along with da Matta's family, girlfriend and close friends. Justin Wilson, his teammate, will race this weekend in Denver but his thoughts, along with the team, continue to be with da Matta.
"The Champ Car safety/medical team did a tremendous job in getting Cristiano to hospital, actually a phenomenal job," Mason stated. "The best safety team in racing, period."
Mason added that the team has "been 100% focused on Cristiano and his family. And the brothers (his team members) are sleeping at the hospital every night."
According to Pinderski, da Matta will "stay at the medical center for at least two weeks (in intensive care). When he is going to wake up, if he is going to wake up, is still unknown at this point. The injury he sustained, although looked okay on the outside, was quite severe.
"He (da Matta) has made steady progress although it has leveled off a bit in the last 24 hours," Pinderski finished.
When and if the team runs the second car this season has not been decided, Mason did add: "We have had some discussion (about drivers) but it has not been a focal point. However, in the next seven days, we should be making a decision."
Friends and fans of Shorty may show their concern and support in two tangible ways:
Instead of sending flowers and gifts, the team request that a donation may be made da Matta's name to Hole in the Wall Camps, an official charity of the Champ Car World Series. Donation information can be found by visiting www.holeinthewallcamps.org, or by calling 203-562-1203.
Those wishing to send cards may do so at the following address at this time: Cristiano da Matta, patient
Theda Clark Medical Center
130 2nd St.
Neenah, WI 54956

[Wez]

Thanks for the update narian_fan.
Our thoughts are still with Cristiano.. you can come through mate!

[narain fan]

Cristiano da Matta transferred out of Intensive Care

Champ Car World Series driver Cristiano da Matta has been transferred out of the intensive care unit at Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, Wisc. His condition has improved significantly over the past few days, though he is still not completely conscious, responsive or able to speak.



Da Matta was injured after colliding with a deer that ran onto the track near Turn Six at Road America in Elkhart Lake, Wisc. during a Champ Car Open Test on August 3, and has been at Theda Clark ever since, with his family and several members of the Champ Car community at his side.



Champ Car Medical Director Dr. Chris Pinderski has been in constant contact with the medical staff at Theda Clark to monitor the condition of da Matta.



"Cristiano is still making daily progress while recovering from injury two weeks ago," said Pinderski. "Yesterday, he was transferred out of the intensive care unit to an intermediate care unit at Theda Clark Medical Center. We will now begin the process of planning for longer term rehabilitation which is necessary after significant head injuries."



Da Matta's teammate, Justin Wilson travelled to Neenah yesterday with RuSPORT president Jeremy Dale, to visit da Matta and his family.



"Justin and I are both very happy to see the improvement in Cristiano's condition," said Dale. "The staff here at Theda Clark has told us that he is making remarkable progress, and that is encouraging to us and to the da Matta family."



RuSPORT

[Autumnpuma]

Wilson is a class act.

Shorty will be racing soon, I predict. *fingers crossed* I would encourage him to take up a hobby after he is released: Deer hunting (revenge is sweet).

Edited by Autumnpuma, 21 August 2006 - 06:09 AM.

[aussief1]

Great to hear that Cristiano is still making progress.

Keep fighting Cristiano.

[Wez]

Great news!!!

[Scott Speed]

Autumnpuma, on Aug 7 2006, 10:42 PM, said:

It's so damned crazy! The track can afford to put up decent walls to prevent this sort of thing. This track is one of America's best and this problem shouldn't have happened.

I am also glad he's doing better. He should recover (knock on wood).

Believe it or not but RA lisence expired before this incedent happened. So they really screwed themselves up. It's a shame with it being such a great track. Anyways I'll be going to the race there in September, doubt there will be any deer then.