who was the race car driver who lost both of his legs
Alex Zanardi
In his most competitive race of 2001 , the 2001 American Memorial , he suffered a violent accident at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz on 15 September . Zanardi started from the back of the grid and was gaining ground on his rivals . The crash occurred while Zanardi was leading the race in the closing laps . After a late pit stop , Zanardi was attempting to merge back onto the track when he accelerated abruptly and spun into the path of Patrick Carpentier . Carpentier was able to avoid him , but Alex Tagliani , who was just behind Carpentier at the time , could not and Zanardi 's car was impacted from the side , behind the front wheel , severing the nose of the car . Zanardi lost both legs ( one at the thigh and one at the knee ) in the impact and nearly three - quarters of his blood volume , though rapid medical intervention saved his life . Further portions of his legs were amputated during three hours of surgery to clean and facilitate closing the wounds . This was the end of his open - wheel racing career . 
In his most competitive race of 2001 , the 2001 American Memorial , he suffered a violent accident at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz on 15 September . Zanardi started from the back of the grid and was gaining ground on his rivals . The crash occurred while Zanardi was leading the race in the closing laps . After a late pit stop , Zanardi was attempting to merge back onto the track when he accelerated abruptly and spun into the path of Patrick Carpentier . Carpentier was able to avoid him , but Alex Tagliani , who was just behind Carpentier at the time , could not and Zanardi 's car was impacted from the side , behind the front wheel , severing the nose of the car . Zanardi lost both legs ( one at the thigh and one at the knee ) in the impact and nearly three - quarters of his blood volume , though rapid medical intervention saved his life . Further portions of his legs were amputated during three hours of surgery to clean and facilitate closing the wounds . This was the end of his open - wheel racing career .
Alex Zanardi lost both legs ( one at the thigh and one at the knee ) in the impact and nearly three - quarters of his blood volume in his most competitive race of 2001
In his most competitive race of 2001 , the 2001 American Memorial , he suffered a violent accident at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz on 15 September . Zanardi lost both legs ( one at the thigh and one at the knee ) in the impact and nearly three - quarters of his blood volume , though rapid medical intervention saved his life .