Robert Wickens Paralyzed from the waist down | FerrariChat

Robert Wickens Paralyzed from the waist down

Discussion in 'Other Racing' started by TheMayor, Oct 26, 2018.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

  1. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2008
    98,702
    Vegas baby
    #1 TheMayor, Oct 26, 2018
    Terrible news....

    IndyCar Driver Robert Wickens Confirms He's Paralyzed from Waist Down
    https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2802871

    IndyCar driver Robert Wickens announced in an Instagram post he is paralyzed from the waist down, calling himself a "paraplegic" Thursday.

    Wickens was initially injured in a crash at Pocono Raceway on Aug. 19.

    According to Bob Pockrass of ESPN, Wickens suffered a variety of injuries from the crash, including a "thoracic spinal fracture, neck fracture, tibia and fibula fractures to both legs, four broken ribs, a broken right forearm, a broken elbow, fractures in both hands and a pulmonary contusion."

    An additional injury to his spinal cord is also likely affecting his feeling in his legs.

    Wickens was in his first year with IndyCar but was in the midst of an impressive run prior to the crash.
     
    Texas Forever likes this.
  2. BMW.SauberF1Team

    BMW.SauberF1Team F1 World Champ

    Dec 4, 2004
    14,244
    #2 BMW.SauberF1Team, Oct 26, 2018
    It's hopefully temporary from spinal cord contusion/edema as the cord was not severed from fracture fragments. He already has some movement and feeling regained and hopefully it continues to improve over time.

    Still terrible and frightening.

    https://www.motorsport.com/indycar/news/wickens-clarifies-paraplegic-reference/3203201/

     
    pdxjim488 and Texas Forever like this.
  3. BartonWorkman

    BartonWorkman F1 Veteran
    Sponsor

    Nov 3, 2003
    6,086
    En El 305
    Full Name:
    Barton Workman
    #3 BartonWorkman, Oct 27, 2018
    Wow, the list of Wickens' injuries is dizzying.

    Fortunately, he's still here to tell us about it unlike poor Dan Wheldon.

    Hopefully, as a result of this incident, some clever person comes along and designs
    a completely different way of retaining the cars on the ovals so these sorts of things
    don't happen again.

    The Safer Barriers are a good first step, now let's have safer catch fences.

    BHW
     
  4. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2008
    98,702
    Vegas baby
    #4 TheMayor, Oct 27, 2018
    I wonder who did the final report on the accident. It seems to me one rear wheel got jammed in the catch fence along a support post and spun the car violently. I'm sure there's a way to avoid that but its a question of cost. Some tracks may not survive retro fitting.

    Or, the other solution is banning open wheel cars entirely, which I feel will happen one day just like HALO.
     
  5. BMW.SauberF1Team

    BMW.SauberF1Team F1 World Champ

    Dec 4, 2004
    14,244
    #5 BMW.SauberF1Team, Oct 27, 2018
    Mainstream motor sports will probably die off by then the rate things are going.
     
  6. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2008
    98,702
    Vegas baby
    #6 TheMayor, Oct 27, 2018
    When you hurl people at 200 mph in a confined space, you're doing something dangerous. That's racing. And, that danger might just be its eventual downfall.
     
    william likes this.
  7. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,549
    #7 william, Oct 27, 2018

    Most of the tracks are inadequate for modern race cars.
    New circuits need to be built to catch up with today's race cars, and anticipate their future development.
     
    Texas Forever likes this.
  8. Ky1e

    Ky1e Formula 3

    Mar 4, 2011
    1,250
    FL
    #8 Ky1e, Nov 1, 2018
    saw that-- terrible news. I wish him the best.
     
  9. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
    Consultant Owner

    Aug 10, 2002
    26,364
    socal
    #9 fatbillybob, Nov 1, 2018
    I doubt that. Is it more dangerous than rock climbing, extreme skiing, boarder parks, or any number of other sports? Riding a road bike in LosAngeles is way more dangerous than racing my racecar.
     
    BMW.SauberF1Team likes this.
  10. Turbopanzer

    Turbopanzer F1 World Champ

    Oct 2, 2011
    11,120
    Under a bonnet
    Full Name:
    Panzer
    #10 Turbopanzer, Nov 1, 2018
    It might want to be considered that the injuries came from within the tub of the car. It would appear that the tub while it effectively did its job, did not provide enough driver protection and energy absorption. This seems to be a problem with the current ICS chassis. I would like to know if the data from the accident is available for review?
     
  11. steved033

    steved033 F1 Veteran
    Owner Silver Subscribed

    Apr 12, 2017
    7,710
    Atlanta, GA
    Full Name:
    Steve D.
    #11 steved033, Nov 2, 2018
    certainly not rock climbing.

    Image Unavailable, Please Login

    makes my palms sweat...

    sjd
     
  12. blkfxstc

    blkfxstc Formula Junior
    Silver Subscribed

    Nov 30, 2016
    769
    TX
    Full Name:
    Eric
    #12 blkfxstc, Nov 2, 2018
    I was/am disappointed how Indy handled this whole situation on releasing information about Robert's health. If he requested it, I understand, otherwise I am disappointed.
     
  13. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2008
    98,702
    Vegas baby
    #13 TheMayor, Nov 2, 2018

    Agree.
     
  14. Jakuzzi

    Jakuzzi Formula 3

    Mar 26, 2005
    2,073
    PR, TX, GV
    Full Name:
    Jaime
    #14 Jakuzzi, Feb 6, 2019
    kes7u, Nortonious and Metastable like this.
  15. Metastable

    Metastable Formula Junior

    May 4, 2018
    535
    Canada/Southern Cali
    #15 Metastable, Feb 6, 2019
    Terrific news!
     
    Jakuzzi likes this.
  16. TheMayor

    TheMayor Nine Time F1 World Champ
    Rossa Subscribed

    Feb 11, 2008
    98,702
    Vegas baby
    #16 TheMayor, Feb 7, 2019
    chrixxx, kes7u, Nortonious and 1 other person like this.

Share This Page