Schmidt remains paralyzed; family braces for the worst

Monday, Jan. 10, 2000 | 9:58 a.m.

Indy Racing League driver Sam Schmidt of Henderson likely is facing a lifetime of paralysis and dependence on a respirator as a result of the spinal injury he sustained last Thursday in a crash at Walt Disney World Speedway, according to sources close to Schmidt's family.

"That's always a possibility," Treadway Racing publicist Ruthie Culbertson said. "What we are honestly facing, at this point, is that he is considered a quadriplegic and should the spinal column not recover, that's what we're looking at.

"(The family knows) this is a very long-term injury and we're all trying to remain optimistic, but we also braced for the worst. There just aren't any solid answers for anybody to grasp a hold of."

Culbertson added that because Schmidt's spinal cord was fractured and not severed, doctors are holding out hope that he might eventually regain some movement. Schmidt currently is paralyzed from the clavicle (neck) down.

"The doctors said we should know more in probably three to five weeks," Culbertson said. "The spinal cord was not severed so there is every possibility that things will come back -- what, we don't know."

Schmidt, 35, remained in serious and stable condition at Orlando Regional Medical Center this morning after undergoing surgery to stabilize the C-3 and C-4 vertebra last Thursday night.

Schmidt lost control of his Treadway Racing G-Force/Aurora coming out of turn 2 at Walt Disney World Speedway during an open test session Thursday morning for the season-opening Indy Racing League event on Jan. 29. The left rear of Schmidt's car hit the outside concrete wall, according to an IRL spokesman.

Schmidt's parents were at the track at the time of the accident and have remained at the hospital with their son. Schmidt's wife, Sheila, flew from Las Vegas to Orlando Thursday afternoon.

"The family is holding up as well as can be expected under the circumstances," Culbertson said. "They're very strong people."

Culbertson said Schmidt's family is researching rehabilitation centers that specialize in spinal-cord injuries and that Schmidt likely would be transferred to such a facility within the week.

"We're probably looking at doing that maybe toward the end of this week or the beginning of next week, once the family decides on a location," Culbertson said. "They're looking at what they consider to be the best facility, no matter where the location is."

Schmidt earned his first career IRL pole and victory last September in the Vegas.com 500 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Three weeks later, in the season finale at Texas Motor Speedway, Schmidt was involved in a violent crash that resulted in serious injuries to both of his feet.

Schmidt returned to his G-Force/Aurora race car for the first time since that accident on Wednesday at Walt Disney World Speedway and logged 130 laps in his 1999 car without an incident. His crash came Thursday morning while running his sixth lap of the day, Culbertson said.