David Schumacher, the nephew of F1 legend Michael Schumacher, suffered spine fracture in a horrific crash at the Hockenheim DTM event over the weekend. During lap 6, the 20-year-old collided with Thomas Preining, sending both cars off the track and into the barrier. After the accident, the Mercedes driver was taken to the hospital and given the all-clear.
New scans, however, reveal that the German driver has a broken back. Ralf Schumacher, David’s father, has revealed that he has a lumbar vertebra fracture and must wear a corset for the time being. On the other hand, he will not require surgery for his broken spine and is expected to recover completely in a few weeks.
After being involved in the horrific accident, Schumacher was forced to miss Sunday’s title decider due to damage to his Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the crash, effectively ending his first season in the DTM. The collision between Schumacher and Preining also set off a chain reaction while braking for Turn 8, resulting in Ricardo Feller hitting the back of Dennis Olsen’s Porsche.
Olsen then spun into the wall on the side of the track, with the engine thrown out of his Porsche catching fire and colliding with Nick Cassidy’s Ferrari. Doctors later declared Porsche duo Preining and Olsen unfit to race. Cassidy also missed Sunday’s final race due to crash damage.
Watch David Schumacher’s Accident:
“When David came home, he was still complaining of back pain. We then decided to go to a hospital in Salzburg to have an MRI done. It turned out that a lumbar vertebra was fractured. According to the doctors treating David, that means a break of around six weeks,” Ralf Schumacher told the German news agency DPA.
The race was called off after the red flag was raised. After the event was called to a halt, all of the drivers involved were taken to be examined by medics. David finished the season without winning a single point, finishing 28th in the standings.
