14 replies to this topic

[HB?!]

Next to most of you I'm quite new to F1. Thats the reason I have this doubt: I was told recently that what put Frank Williams in a wheel char was an incident involving Emerson Fittipaldi? Is this true? Can anyone tell me more details of what happened?

[Ray Bell]

He was involved in a road accident perhaps ten or twelve years ago... I think Emmo was already in the States before it happened.

[Vicster]

He was driving back from a test in France. Nigel Mansell and Nelson Piquet (they were still talking to each other, it was before the start of the '88 season) were following him. He lost control and rolled his car (I think Peter Windsor was a passenger). Nelson looked and told him not to move. He went for help, but apparently the rescue personel weren't as careful extracting him. It's claimed that's what cause the actual paralysis. At the hospital, doctors didn't give him much hope of survival. Frank's wife did her best to get him to England for proper treatment.

Needless to say, the moral of the story, don't have an accident in France.....

[Runner]

Vicster wrote:

Needless to say, the moral of the story, don't have an accident in France.....

No, the moral of that story is wear your seatbelt particularly if you go off the road and roll your car. Frank didn't have a seatbelt on. Peter Windsor did and he walked away.

Try Syd Watkins book for more info and several years ago Peter Windsor did an article about the accident for F1 Racing.

[Pascal]

Vicster, before you start slagging off France and its medical system, you should know that Le Castellet (in the vicinity of which the accident took place) is right in the middle of nowhere. I doubt Williams would have received better treatment in the middle of rural Scotland...

[Louis Mr. F1]

the accident happened during the winter testing period in early 1986, and Frank was driving the car himself.

It was reported at the time it possibly led to Honda's decision of leaving the team because they thought Frank could no longer run the team effectively, what a shame. It would be great if we could see a Williams-Honda vs McLaren-Honda battle.

[Dennis David]

Actually it was worse than that. Williams won’t say it but the rumor was that Honda simply had a problem image wise working with a cripple. Somehow it was considered beneath them. Lovely people say what!

[HB?!]

Thanks everybody for all the info on this.

[doohanOK]

If you read pages 120-126 in Professor Sid Watkins' book, "Life at the Limit: Triumph and Tragedy in Formula One", it has a great detailed story from Watkins' perspective about SFW's crash.

I tried looking in Mansell's Autobiography, but was unable to find anything.

regards,
doohanOK.

[Vicster]

Peter Windsor's article for F1 Racing claimed that the medical service was terrible. I'm just recalling what he wrote. He was at the hospital practically the entire time, along with Frank's wife and Mansell.

[Yohbi]

Vicster,

I hate to clue you in, but if you're in the middle of nowhere in any country, you're not going to get qaulity medical treatment. It's just a fact. It has nothing to do with France. It has everything to do with reality.

[The Swerve]

That isn't a fact at all - you can't judge medical prowess on geographic location!

[Pascal]

The Swerve, have you ever heard about logistics?

By the way, the World Health Organisation just awarded today the title of best medical system in the world to France. I'm not saying this means much, but that's at least a clear indication that Vicster's assumption was unfounded.[p][Edited by Pascal on 06-21-2000]

[Mumbler]

I have no knowledge of medical services in France. However, which country you are in DEFINITELY makes a difference in a rural accident.

I've seen the Swedish helicopter ambulance service lifting people from the roadside and saving valuable minutes for a seriously injured patient. It makes me sad that in the UK (my native country) such services are rare and underfunded.

However, all countries have places where the ambulance services are "less good".

What I do like in France is the signs telling you the number and consequences of accidents on dangerous road sections.

[Vicster]

I apologise if I offended anyone of any nationality. But I'm just repeating what Peter Windsor said about the medical facilities. I'm not necessarily talking about the rescue workers, I'm talking also about the hospital services. Again I am repeating what Peter Windsor wrote in the F1 Racing article. Remember this was 13 years ago. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to have a glass of some fine French wine followed by some excellent French Onion Soup...