Zanardi crash 'like bomb had gone off'.

Medical teams attending the scene of Alex Zanardi's accident at the Lausitzring last weekend compared what they found to something from a war zone.

The Italian's Mo Nunn Reynard had been hit at almost 200mph by the similar Players car of Alex Tagliani, but had been torn apart by the impact so that hardly anything remained ahead of the front cockpit bulkhead. Sadly, this included Zanardi's legs, which were so badly injured in the accident that they had to be amputated at the knee.

"It was like a bomb blast because his legs were gone and everything was in small fragments," orthopaedic surgeon Terry Trammell told ESPN.com, "It was apparent there was no chance of re-attachment. Additionally, both femoral arteries were ruptured and Alex was bleeding profusely. He was in big trouble."

Work continued in two areas as the Simple Green medical team fought to save the Italian's life, with paramedics attempting to form an airway so the driver could breathe, and Trammell struggling to staunch the massive blood loss from his shattered legs.

"I grabbed a belt from one of the safety workers and made a tourniquet for the left side and put a pressure dressing on the right," Trammell said, "Getting the bleeding stopped and maintaining an airway were the priorities, but we were racing against time."

According to Trammell's medical partner Steve Olvey, Zanardi had lost 70 per cent of his normal blood quota and was still bleeding internally. Both doctors feared for his life, particularly with the leading Berlin trauma centre still half an hour away by helicopter.
Trammell and Olvey said the next half hour was the toughest.

"At best, it was 50:50 whether he would be alive when he got to Berlin," Trammell said, before Olvey confirmed that doctors in the German city confirmed that another fifteen minute delay could have been fatal.

Despite the loss of his legs, Zanardi is now awake and alert in hospital, and talking to his wife Daniela and son Niccolo. He continues to receive medication for his injuries, having been brought out of a controlled coma, and was due to undergo the final surgery to clean out his wounds this afternoon [Friday].