SEPTEMBER 21, 2001
Zanardi regains consciousness
Double CART champion and former Williams F1 driver Alex Zanardi regained consciousness yesterday (Thursday), for the first time since his traumatic accident in the CART race in Germany that led to the amputation of both his legs.
Zanardi's wife Daniela was at his side when he came out of the medically-controlled coma in which he had been kept in order to give his body time to cope with the results of his violent accident, and it was she who broke the news to Zanardi that he had lost both legs.
"She had just told Alex about his legs and he said that was OK, he didn't care because he still had her and Niccolo. That's the kind of spirit I expected from him," said Zanardi's Mo Nunn Racing teammate Tony Kanaan, after Daniela called him from the hospital.