Friday, Jan. 7, 2000 | 10:18 a.m.
Indy Racing League driver Sam Schmidt of Henderson was in serious but stable condition in a Florida hospital this morning after undergoing surgery to stabilize an upper spinal fracture he sustained in a crash during a test session Thursday morning at Walt Disney World Speedway in Orlando.
Dr. Phillip St. Louis, a neurosurgeon at Orlando Regional Medical Center, used a bone graft to fuse Schmidt's C-3 and C-4 vertebrae and inserted a pin to stabilize the fracture during the three-hour operation. According to a team spokeswoman, the surgery went "very smoothly" and Schmidt is awake, alert and responsive, but still experiencing paralysis from the clavicle down.
Treadway Racing team publicist Ruthie Culbertson said Schmidt, 35, remains in the intensive-care unit and additional tests will be conducted to determine whether Schmidt's paralysis is short-term or permanent.
"Unfortunately, with spinal-cord injuries, it could take several months before we know (the extent of Schmidt's paralysis)," Culbertson said. "The doctors are saying this could be a long haul ... but you never know with this type of injury."
Schmidt remains on a respirator, although Culbertson said he is able to breathe on his own. She said Schmidt is fully aware of his situation and is communicating with doctors and family members by blinking his eyes in response to questions.
Schmidt lost control of his Treadway Racing G-Force/Aurora coming out of turn 2 at Walt Disney World Speedway during an open test session for the season-opening Indy 200 on Jan. 29. The left rear of Schmidt's car hit the outside concrete wall, according to IRL spokesman Ron Green.
Culbertson said Schmidt was unconscious and not breathing when track rescue workers reached him, and an emergency tracheotomy was performed at the scene.
Although it is unclear what caused Schmidt to spin, Culbertson said preliminary data showed that nothing had failed mechanically on the car prior to the accident.
"The car is totaled and we'll have to take the car back to the shop (in Indianapolis) before we can tell exactly what happened," Culbertson said.
The accident was the second for Schmidt in less than three months. During the Mall.com 500 in October at Texas Motor Speedway, Schmidt fractured both feet in a violent crash with Scott Sharp and had to have parts of two toes amputated.
Schmidt, who won last year's Vegas.com 500 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, took part in the first day of the two-day test on Wednesday and turned in the seventh-fastest lap (163.347 mph) among the 13 drivers who took part in the practice.
"It feels really good," Schmidt said of returning to the track. "I feel like we can take it to the next level now. I feel like I'll be more than ready when (the race) rolls around.
"Getting back into the car was great. It took me only about three or four laps to realize nothing had changed, and the car feels the same as last year. My left foot is still a little sore but for the most part, we're feeling pretty good."
Schmidt, the father of two young children, said he had no second thoughts about climbing back into a race car following his accident last October.
"A few family members said, 'Do you really want to do this?' " Schmidt said. "Six or eight weeks went by fairly quickly. Seeing I wouldn't have any side effects, the biggest drag was waiting to get back into the car."
Schmidt's father, Marv, suffered partial paralysis in 1977 as the result of a serious off-road racing accident, which prompted a 13-year-old Schmidt to give up motocross racing. In 1992, the younger Schmidt resumed his racing career in the SCCA Spec Racer series and was named Rookie of the Year.
Marv Schmidt was at Walt Disney World Speedway when his son crashed Thursday.
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