Former F1 Driver Scott Speed Breaks Back in Horrific Rallying Crash

Disaster struck for former Formula One driver Scott Speed as he suffered an accident at a rally event in the United States. The event that he was attending was the Nitro Games in Utah.

According to reports, Speed had a fairly hard landing after a particular jump in his Subaru. The 36-year old American was racing in the American Rallycross championship at the time of his accident.

According to a statement from Subaru Motorsports, “Unfortunately, Scott Speed suffered a back injury during the first qualifying heat after a hard landing over a jump. He was able to finish the heat and exit the car, but has been transported to a local hospital for medical evaluation. Scott will miss the remainder of the event.”

Afterwards, on Instagram, the ex Toro Rosso driver, Scott Speed himself gave an update on his condition. He said, “Sorry for a late update. After landing hard in Q1 I broke my back. Was rushed to the local hospital for checks. CT scan confirmed a destroyed T6.. then was taken to a spine specialist at University of Utah. Finally got an MRI done around 3am.. we found I have 3 fractured vertebrae. Waiting now for the surgeons to give us the game plan. Last night was easily the scariest and most painful time I can remember. Was in a pretty dark place.”

“But I want to thank so much everyone who came and spent time with me. No way I could have made it thru alone. Peter Minnig will forever have a place in my heart for all that he did and Luckily the best cousin in the world Jekka Arellano lives here to play mama bear for me… so excited to see Amanda and dad here soon. Thanks for all the kind text messages!”

Spinal Injury 101 said that a broken T6 results in Nerves affecting the muscles of the trunk (abdominal and back muscles) depending on the level of injury. Other effects include paraplegia, but the good news is that there is normal upper-body movement as well as ability to control and balance the trunk while in a seated position.

Since the devastating incident, support has poured in from the motor racing world. Most notably, Canadian driver Robert Wickens, who himself suffered spinal injuries in a crash.