Mika Hakkinen paid a visit today to ...

Published on 11 March 1997 by Verstappen Info Page

Mika Hakkinen paid a visit today to the Royal Adelaide Hospital where he recovered from his high-speed crash in the 1995 Australian Grand Prix. The impact crushed the base of Hakkinen's skull, cutting off his breathing. Hospital surgeons at the track saved Hakkinen's life when they made an incision in his throat to restore his breathing, before an ambulance took him to hospital. Their impromptu surgery prevented long term, irreversible brain damage through inadequate blood-oxygen flow to the brain. Hakkinen was in a coma for several days and spent three weeks recovering. He arrived at the hospital by helicopter as part of a ceremony to open a new helicopter landing pad on the hospital's roof. Mika said: "Something like that certainly opens your eyes and maybe I don't take so many risks in the car anymore."