http://www.news.com.au/story/0,23599,20539954-1702,00.html
Driver walks from high-speed crash
By Todd Balym at Bathurst
October 07, 2006 10:30am
Article from: AAP
A DRIVER in the Historic Touring Cars race at the Bathurst 1000 motor sport event amazingly walked away from a high speed crash at the Mount Panorama circuit today.
Less than 24 hours after two V8 development series drivers were rushed to hospital in a critical condition following a crash on the mountain circuit, David Wheatley driving a Morris Cooper luckily escaped without serious injury from his own heavy crash.
Wheatley's vehicle lifted onto two wheels as he came flying around the final bend leading onto the main straight.
It flipped onto its roof and slid into the tyre wall in front of thousands of spectators, spiralled twice through the air and then rolled over again before coming to rest upside down.
At one stage throughout the stunning sequence Wheatley's head protruded from the vehicle as his driver's side door had been ripped from the body of the vehicle.
Wheatley managed to free himself from the wreckage without assistance, and rescue crews, who arrived quickly onto the scene, immediately hosed down the vehicle to eliminate fire risk.
He walked to a nearby medical car and was taken to the on-track medical centre as a precaution.
Wheatley was extremely lucky to not be seriously injured.
Unlike the extensive safety precautions enforced on V8 Supercar drivers, Wheatley was not required to wear the new HANS safety device which has been made compulsory in other driving categories to protect the neck from serious whiplash during accidents.
that a Mini nearly Died
that the driver is OK
