DECEMBER 24, 2001

Fittipaldi injured

RACING legend Emerson Fittipaldi has injured himself on an evening bicycle ride near his Florida home. Apparently he was unseated when he hit another bicycle that had been left out in the road and the dusk hid it from view until it was too late for the former Formula 1 and IndyCar world champion to take avoiding action.

Fittipaldi's accident is thought to have aggravated the severe neck and back injuries that ended his career in 1996 when the Brazilian crashed during the Michigan 500 and was treated by the same doctors at the Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami who tended to him then, but they are optimistic that the Brazilian will make a full recovery within a few months.