That could have been it for him. I would just fall apart if something like that ever happened James Courtneyat home on the Gold Coast with wife Carys and kids Zara, 5, and Cadel, 3. JAMES Courtney's wife, Carys, has revealed the horrifying moment she feared her husband was dead following the V8 Supercar crash that has ruled him out of the Sydney 500. Courtney's race to be fit for his hometown event ended yesterday when scans revealed he had suffered a broken fibula in the 200km/h hit that has been described as the worst side intrusion collision of the modern era. But it could have been far worse. "I was watching the race with James after he flew back from Phillip Island for further medical tests," Carys said. Larko (Channel 7 commentator) was dissecting the accident and he said James would have been killed had it been two years ago because the new car had safety improvements that saved his life. I went numb with shock and froze. I would just fall apart if something like that ever happened. James was sitting next to me smiling. Smirking because he had beaten death. James Courtney's commodore is smashed by the GRM Fujitsu car of Alexander Premat at Phillip Island. Carys was at the glamour couple's Gold Coast home with her two children when the former champion was struck by fellow Holden driver Alex Premat in a high-speed accident that left the entire sport shaken. The Holden Racing Team Commodore was hit directly in the passenger door and there was no movement from inside the car after the wreck shuddered to a halt. "I saw him not getting out of the car," Carys said. There were a few seconds then and I was just scared stiff. I was terrified and I feared the worst. I am usually at the races and you can hear what they are saying on the radio. I was completely in the dark with this won. Courtney was dragged from the sea of twisted metal by Premat, but Carys' torment was not over. "I won't lie," she said. I was an absolute mess. Even when he got out, he collapsed to the ground and I didn't know what was wrong with him. Mum had to take care of the kids while I jumped on the phone trying to find out what was going on. It wasn't until I spoke to him that I was OK. I told him to never do that to me again. Courtney was cleared of serious injury shortly after the crash, but scans yesterday revealed he suffered a broken leg in the collision. The injury will force the Penrith-raised driver of the year ending Sydney 500. The Daily Telegraph can reveal Courtney was already battling injury with the former F1 test driver secretly wearing a leg brace while driving following a minor crash at the Bathurst 1000. Despite his wife's horror, Courtney dismissed the crash as a racing incident and said he had no fears about jumping behind the wheel of a car capable of speeds of up to 310km/h. "I would race at Sydney if they let me," Courtney said. Hell I would have raced at Phillip Island if the car was OK because I tought there was nothing wrong with me. The collision was not the worst in his accomplished career with the V8 poster boy hospitalised for two months after a head on collision into a wall while testing an F1 car. Courtney, unconscious and bleeding from his eyes, was pulled from the car by Michael Schumacher. He could not see for weeks and decided he would never fear a crash again. "It's over if you are scared," Courtney said. It is all or nothing.